What Happens In Motels
by Looka'sMagicHell
Summary: The last thing Sam & Danny want to do is go on an impromptu road trip back home, fresh out of a fight, after a week of vacation in California; but they're doomed to nights in dingy motels, delayed flights, bumpy bus rides, and mostly constant bickering. Spending time alone in worst-case scenarios can do a lot to a friendship... Especially if it's Danny and Sam's. DXS!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is one of those stories that hit you and no matter what you do, you can't shake it off, and you just get that feeling like you have to write it right now. So here it is!

Okay, so before I begin... I just wanted to let you know that I've never been to America, and I know nothing about transportation there and plane flights and such other than that I see in movies. And the last time I went to an airport was like six years ago, so I don't remember anything about that either. So if you find anything that's wrong with any time differences or plane references or transportation details - and I'm pretty sure you will - just know that I did as much research as I could to make it seem as valid as possible, but research is nothing in the face of experience, which I don't have. So now you know.

Also, I always have trouble keeping the characters in character because it's been forever since I watched the show and read any other fanfics, so again I apologize if they seem OOC. And this time I'm pretty sure they're OOC, but for their behavior to be plausible and for me to be able to write the scenes in my head, I based this entire story around a timeline in which they're in a fight, so I hope that justifies it a little.

Okay! I won't keep you now. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** This is like the fourth story I'd written for DP and so far I STILL hadn't found a way to get myself the rights to the show. *sighs* WHY.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Sam, I know you're really pissed right now, but I'm asking you nicely, please don't slam the door – no, Sam, don't give me that look, just don't slam the–" _Slam_! "… She slammed the door."

Jazz patted Tucker's shoulder sympathetically. "In hindsight, I think your conviction skills are good."

Tucker glared at her as he, Sam, Jazz, and Danny got out of the Jeep he'd received as his sixteenth birthday present and loved dearly, and started heading to the beach house. They'd just gotten back from the beach, and it was their last day in California at Tucker's aunt's beach house.

"Hey kids!" Tucker's aunt was a really old, fifty-something-year-old woman who'd lived in LA alone for her entire life. She'd been married three times, divorced two times, widowed one time, and the only kid she'd had was some kind of genius and had headed off to live alone in college since he was fourteen. Despite all of the hardships in her life, she was a sweet, cheerful woman who was always smiling. Tucker had told Sam that she could learn a thing or two from his aunt, only to receive a glare and a kick in the shin.

"Hey, aunt Maggie," Tucker and Jazz were the only ones to stop and return her greetings, as Sam and Danny went their separate ways to their rooms without uttering a word.

Aunt Maggie noticed the lovebirds' uncharacteristic silence. "Trouble in paradise?"

Tucker snorted. "What paradise?"

Aunt Maggie chuckled as she led Jazz and Tucker to the kitchen. "So, kids. Who's hungry?"

* * *

"No. _No_." Sam was shaking her head vigorously over dinner that night. "I am _not_ spending 33 hours in a car with _him_."

"Well, technically it will be a lot more than 33 hours, if you count the gas stops, whether we decide to rent a motel room to spend the night, eat breakfast somewhere, and there's also the traffic–"

"Well, and I'm not spending all that time with _her _either," Danny cut her off, causing Jazz to glare at him when she realized that no one was even listening to her.

Sam rolled her eyes at the halfa and turned to Tucker and Jazz. "If you guys want to extend the fun with a road trip back to Amity Park, then that's your choice. But I'm taking the first flight back to Indiana tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too," Danny said. "I've had it up to here with California sun and open roads."

"Are you a moron?" Sam scoffed at him. "The whole point of me taking a plane is because I don't want to associate with you."

"In case you haven't noticed," Danny pointed his fork at her for emphasis, and in the process caused some rice grains to be flung and hit Sam in the face, "There's an average of 200 seats on a plane, and I plan to sit in the seat that's farthest away from you."

Sam seemed to realize he was right, so only scowled at him as she said, "Fine."

"Even more fine by me," Danny glared, and then turned to Aunt Maggie with a softer look as he said, "Thank you for dinner, Aunt Maggie, it was delicious."

"Yes," Sam got up as Danny did, both holding their half-empty plates, "your cooking is sublime."

Danny and Sam glared at each other once more and started heading to the kitchen. They seemed to realize that they were heading to the same place, so both rushed into the room. The two were obscured by the walls of the kitchen as the silent three still sitting on the dinner table waited, and flinched when they heard bangs and slams in the kitchen. Seconds later the two emerged, still glaring at each other, and Sam took the stairs to the room she shared with Jazz and Danny headed in the opposite direction to the room he shared with Tucker.

Aunt Maggie gave Tucker and Jazz a look. "Lovebirds, huh?"

Jazz ignored her and went on as if she hadn't commented on anything. "Okay, so Danny and Sam are taking a plane home, so I don't see the point of us not doing the same."

Tucker dramatically dropped his fork in his plate. "What? What about my Jeep? And didn't you want to stop in a lot of places along the way anyway?"

Jazz sighed. "Right. There is that."

"I don't see a reason you should change your plans," Aunt Maggie sighed. "Let those two take a plane if they want. It's their loss." Tucker and Jazz nodded in agreement. Aunt Maggie paused, and then finally asked, "So. Anyone willing to tell me what happened at the beach?"

They told her.

The only thing Aunt Maggie could do was chuckle and say, "Well, I guess they are lovebirds after all."

* * *

Sam and Danny had booked a plane that departed at two in the afternoon. Jazz and Tucker decided that they didn't want to wait for them and their bickering and decided they would leave at ten, right after breakfast with Aunt Maggie. Aunt Maggie also had work afterwards, which left Danny and Sam in the beach house, alone.

Even though Danny had been at the breakfast table, when Sam passed his room on her way to the laundry room, he was fast asleep. She thanked God that she wouldn't have to share the house with him for the next few hours and started getting ready for the flight.

She packed the few things she'd gotten on the trip, which wasn't that much, since they'd only stayed a week at Tucker's aunt's house. She washed the dishes in the kitchen, and cleaned up the room she and Jazz had been staying in.

LAX was only a few miles from Aunt Maggie's house, but at 12:30, Tucker decided to call Sam and see when she and Danny would leave.

Sam had been in the laundry room when Tucker called, so she balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she loaded the clothes from the dryer to a basket and answered. "Hey, Tuck. How's the road trip?"

"Brilliant," he answered sarcastically. "About that later. You and Danny on your way yet?"

"I called a cab and it should be here in ten minutes," she told him, loading the rest of her clothes. Even though Danny's clothes were in the same cycle, she left them in the dryer.

"Did you wake up Danny?" Tucker knew that mentioning his best friend wasn't the best idea if Sam was still pissed off, but he had to make sure both of them were together at the airport for their flight.

"He's a big boy," she was making her way up the stairs to her room to pack the rest of her clothes, "he can wake himself up and get himself to the airport on time."

"Sam," Tucker sighed. "You do realize it's Danny you're talking about, right?"

Even though Sam knew Tucker couldn't see her, she shrugged. "If he missed his flight, it'll be his own fault."

"Can you just go wake him up?" Tucker paused, then hastily added, "Please."

Even though Sam didn't like it, she wasn't in the mood for another fight either. "Fine. Later."

She didn't wait for him to say anything before she hung up on him. Even though their cab would be here soon, she took her time packing the rest of her stuff. When all of her packing was done and she was ready, she made her way downstairs. She paused at Danny's door, and her eyes went towards the laundry room. She rolled her eyes at herself, but went in there anyway and collected Danny's stuff from the dryer.

She made no effort to be subtle when she pushed the door to Danny's room open and said, "Fenton. Wake up; it's time to go."

The only response she got in return was a moan and a shuffle in the bed. She eyed the clock above the bed and realized that if he didn't get up soon, they'd be late for their cab. "I'm not kidding, Danny – get _up_."

Danny still didn't move. Sam started to get pissed at the halfa, and even more pissed at herself for not leaving him there. She shook her head at the limp body on the bed and then started flinging the clothes in her hands at his form lying on the bed.

At the first flying clothing items, he still made no move to get up, but when Sam perfectly aimed one of his jeans on his head, he sat up in shock and yelled, "Ow!"

He'd been on the edge of the bed when the jeans had hit him, so the sudden movement caused him to fall right onto the floor.

Sam couldn't help the satisfied grin on her face at the groan he let out and said, "Oh, good, you're up."

"What?" He sat up, rubbing the back of his head and grimacing. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to finish packing because we leave in ten minutes," Sam told him, and, eyeing the rest of his clothes in her arms, she shrugged to herself, walked over to him, and dropped the clothes all over him.

"Sam!" she heard Danny yell from behind her as she walked out of the room. "Why?!"

"You know why!" She yelled back at him.

"I hate you so much right now."

Danny snorted. "That's what you said yesterday."

"Well, I still mean it," Sam folded her arms across her chest defiantly and glared ahead.

The stupid genius had gotten them both so late that the cab Sam'd called had left, so they had to spend a long time on the street trying to call another one. By the time they did, it was already 1:20 and they only had forty minutes to reach the airport. Sam wasn't worried, at first – Aunt Maggie's house wasn't that far away from LAX.

That was until the taxi cab came to an abrupt stop and Sam realized they'd gotten stuck in an afternoon traffic jam.

"Good for you, Sammy," Danny said sarcastically. "But hating me won't make the traffic go away."

"Don't call me that," she snapped at him. She leaned forward in her seat, and tapped on the window separating them from the driver. "Excuse me," she used a gentler tone than the one she'd been using on Danny, "but is there any other way to get to the airport?"

The driver shrugged at her. "Only way is through here, ma'am, but I can't control traffic."

"Perfect," Sam muttered. She tried to calm herself down, tell herself they still had plenty more time to get there, but when she glanced down at her watch, her eyes widened. "We're going to miss our flight!"

Danny noticed the time too, but as he surveyed all the cars in front of them, he got an idea. "No we won't. Come on."

He got a twenty out of his jeans pocket and gave them to the driver. "Hey, wait, where are you going?" Even though the taxi driver got more money that he deserved, he still stared at them in confusion as they got out of the car. Their bags were in the trunk of the cab, so Danny opened it and got out his bag and Sam's. Even though he was mad at the Goth, he only let her carry her and his carry-ons and he carried both of their suitcases.

They took off running towards LAX, the clock ticking. Both him and Sam were fairly fit from all the years of ghost-hunting, so even though the run left them breathless after a few minutes, they maintained.

"We're never going to make it!" Sam said. Danny ignored her and they kept running. Finally, after what felt like forever, LAX came into view.

They rushed towards their terminal and towards the computer lady to verify their tickets, which Sam had bought online last night.

"Two tickets to Indiana, name is Sam Manson," Sam panted to the lady. While the woman typed away on her computer, Sam and Danny used the moments of peace to regain their breath after a long, fast run. Danny's arms were aching from the suitcases, and Sam's legs were on fire after all that running.

Sam's beating heart started to calm down, and relief washed over her instead as she realized they'd made it on time. She was even more relieved at the fact that she was finally going home where she could be away from the stupid Ghost Boy for a while without worrying about bumping into him in the same house at night.

However, that relief was soon diminished when the woman _tsk_-ed at them and said, "I'm afraid you just missed it. The plane just took off a few minutes ago."

* * *

**A/N:** First chapters always kind of suck. But even if the first chapter sucked, hopefully the others will make up for it!

So, what do you think so far?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** So I had all the intention to actually update one day after I posted the first chapter, but I'm in Alexandria at the moment and the wifi SUUCKKSS. But, nonetheless, here's the second chapter!

Thank you guys for your enthusiasm on the first chapter! You really kept a smile on my face for the whole day :')

**Disclaimer:** As per every chapter, I don't own DP.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The first thing Sam did when she heard they'd missed their flight was turn and glare at Danny.

"Did you hear that, Danny boy?" she drawled out sarcastically. "We missed our flight."

"So I heard," Danny told her, maintaining a calm expression, which only pissed Sam off even more.

She looked away from the Ghost Boy back to the woman. "When is the next flight to Indiana?"

The woman looked on the computer, and after a few types later, said, "The next flight from here to Indiana directly is in four days."

"_Four days_?" The calm exterior Sam was trying to maintain was slipping through her fingers. "We're going to Indiana, not Mars! It's a freaking four hour flight!"

The woman's expressed was level with her the entire time. "That's the schedule I have, Miss Manson."

"Well," Sam jabbed a finger in her direction, "let me tell _you_ what I think of your schedule; I think you should take it and shove it up your–"

"Okay!" Danny had stayed silent the entire time, but at Sam's outburst put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back before the woman called security on both of them. "Calm down, honey, there's no reason for that."

"Calm down? Don't you tell me to–"

Danny would like to say he used a mature method to shut Sam up, but that would be untrue. He lifted his hand up and put it over her mouth, shutting her up momentarily as he turned to the woman, who still had a freakish calm expression on her face, as if she'd dealt with lunatics like that all the time. "Sorry about that, ma'am. It's just that we have an urgent meeting in Indiana and we need to be there by tonight. Can you help us out?"

The woman, apparently, couldn't resist the Danny Fenton puppy-dog look, and so sighed and turned back to her computer. Danny waited patiently, and after a few moments she looked back up at him and said, "There are no further planes taking off to Indiana, but there's a plane going to Indiana in McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas at 6:25 pm tonight."

Sam mumbled something angrily from behind his hand, but neither he nor the woman paid her any attention. "Las Vegas?" Danny asked her. "Is there a plane boarding to Las Vegas in the next hour, by any chance?"

The woman snorted at him and waved him away with her hand. "You're holding up the line. Have fun with your girlfriend, sir."

"She's not my girlfriend," he mumbled at the woman as Sam screamed another thing at her from behind his palm. Before he let go of her, he led her away from the woman and towards the waiting area before he finally let go of her.

"_Las Vegas?_" Sam instantly said once he wiped his hand on his jeans, learning that she had tried to lick his palm to make him let go of her but he hadn't even noticed. "How the hell are we going to get to Las Vegas in four hours?"

"I don't know," Danny shook his head and tried to think them a way out of this predicament. He'd been spacing off, but when he looked back at the Goth girl, she was smirking at him, her eyes alight with mischief and an idea. "What?"

"If only we knew a person who could fly as fast as a plane," she mused, feigning a look of thoughtfulness.

Danny gave her a look. "So you want me to carry you, your suitcase, my suitcase, and our bags, and fly us all the way to Nevada? You're kidding, right?"

When Sam realized that he had a point and couldn't possibly carry all of that by himself, she folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Actually, he did. "We could take a bus."

Sam felt even more pissed off because she hadn't really thought of that. "Shut up."

As she grabbed her suitcase from his hands and started walking towards the exits, Danny couldn't help but smirk at her. "And they say you're the smart one."

"Shut up," she repeated, glaring at the ground beneath her feet.

They called another cab and told the driver to take them to the bus station. The whole ride there, Sam was glaring at the window, and Danny was glaring at his window, and both were generally glaring at each other without looking at each other.

Sam couldn't believe she still had to endure more time in Danny's presence, not only on a plane ride, but on a bus ride now too. She kicked herself for not telling Tucker to kidnap Danny with him and Jazz. Had he not been too stubborn to back down and be on this flight with her, she may have been already on that plane, in the air, on her way back home with her earphones in and her life switched off and she wouldn't have to think about their stupid fight with him sitting right next to her.

Once they reached the bus station, they grabbed their luggage and she sat down on one of the chairs and waited for Danny to buy them bus tickets. When he was taking longer than usual, she began to think that the next bus would take a long time to come, and dreaded having to think of another way to get back home and spend yet more time in tensed silence with Danny in the back of a cab.

Thankfully, when Danny came over and sat down next to her, he shoved two tickets in her hands. "The next bus leaves in ten minutes. It's that one over there."

She looked at the bus he pointed at and then got up. "Let's go, then," she told him, and they both got up and started heading towards the bus.

They got in and Danny gave the driver their tickets. There were only two other people in the bus so far; an old man sitting in the front seat, and a girl with pink hair and a pierced nose in the very back seat.

Sam chose a seat somewhere in the middle and sat down next to the window. She noticed Danny make a move to sit next to her, so she hastily put her bag on the seat next to her and gave him a look.

Danny narrowed his eyes at her. "Very mature, Manson. Really, I'm impressed."

Sam rolled her eyes at him as he took the seat on the aisle next to her and then tried to ignore him. They sat in silence as people started piling in the bus, most of them teenagers, probably on their way to Las Vegas for that summer fun that Sam had originally come to California for but didn't get.

When the bus started moving, Sam brought out her iPod and put her earphones in, turning Avenged Sevenfold way up, blocking out the chatter of incandescent excitement of all the kids on the bus and the deafening silence between her and the halfa.

* * *

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she woke up to Danny shaking her shoulder. She blinked the sleep away from her eyes, and when she focused on her surroundings, she realized that the bus had stopped moving.

"What's going on?" she asked Danny tiredly, suppressing a yawn. "Are we there yet?"

"No," Danny said from beside her, and she then noticed that he'd moved her bags and was sitting in the seat next to her. "We're in some place called Carson City."

Sam wasn't a buff when it came to geography, but while other people only thought of Vegas when they hear Nevada, other landscapes and names pop into Sam's mind, so Carson City wasn't as foreign to her as it was to Danny.

"What are we doing in Carson City?" she asked Danny, and, looking out of the window, she realized that the sky was dark.

She remembered the reason they were heading to Vegas in the first place and her eyes widened. "What time is it? We're going to miss our flight! Danny, we need to go, _now_."

"The bus broke down," Danny rubbed the back of his neck a bit sheepishly. "The repair guy's going to be here in a couple of hours."

Sam gaped at him. "Couple of _hours_?" When Danny nodded slightly, Sam shrunk in her seat and closed her eyes and grimaced. "Great. Just great."

"Personally," Danny cleared his throat, "I think that we should just crash at any motel tonight and leave for Vegas tomorrow morning. At least we'll have time to come up with a new plan."

Even though all Sam wanted was to be at an airport with the comfort that she would be boarding a plane home in any minute, she was too tired to think. She hadn't slept all that well last night, anxious about her flight. There was also the fact that she'd been up thinking about Danny and their fight, replaying it over and over again in her head, and she got even angrier each time.

To Danny, however, she only nodded and said, "Fine. Did you see any motels on our way here?"

As they both got up and started heading out of the bus with some of the few passengers, Danny gestured with his head behind the bus. "I saw one less than two miles back. I can fly us there if you're too tired to walk."

Sam was about to let him carry her in relief, when she remembered her anger with him. "Um, no, fly there yourself, I'm walking."

Danny rolled his eyes as she started tugging her suitcase behind her and walked away from Danny. He only folded his arms across his chest defiantly and said, "It's the other way."

Sam halted, cursed herself and Danny, and then tried to hold her head high as she turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Danny shook his head at her, sighed, and then started tugging his own suitcase and followed her. The streets were dark and only a few light poles were illuminating their way, and Danny didn't know how safe it was in a place like this, so even though it wasn't really that late, he kept a look out for any danger.

Their walk to the motel was quiet, as usual, which gave Danny time to think. Regardless of what Tucker had told him the previous night, Danny still maintained that he'd done nothing wrong. Obviously, Sam disagreed, and knowing her, he knew she'd only talk to him when he apologized.

He snorted at her in his thoughts. Well, she should know _him_ well enough to know that he wasn't sorry in the slightest bit.

They made it to a quaint, one story building with a large blue sign with the words _America's Best Value Inn_ in white. There was green shrubbery arranged around the sign and on the front lawn, and as Sam and Danny pushed through the door to the motel, they were greeted with the scent of pine trees.

Sam didn't wait for Danny and headed over to the counter herself. The man behind the counter looked bored as he read a magazine, and when she and Danny entered, he looked up at them in surprise. "Hello," he adjusted the classes on his nose and stood up. "Welcome to _America's Best Value Inn_. How may I help you?"

"I want two rooms, please," Sam told him. "Single beds each; just for tonight."

The man grimaced a bit. "I'm afraid all the single bed rooms are booked. Would you like one room with two beds instead?"

Sam looked back at Danny, who was too busy inspecting the reception, almost knocking over a vase in the process and cursing at it, and rolled her eyes. She turned back to the man and said, "Help me out here."

The guy shrugged. "Don't you two lovebirds want a room to yourselves?"

Sam refrained the urge to yell and instead grumbled, "We're not lovebirds."

She turned back to Danny, then at the man, and sighed. Grumbling even more, she said, "Fine, one room, two beds."

The man pulled out a key with the room number _13_ on it and smiled at her. "Enjoy your stay!"

Sam wanted to tell him about all the other things she would enjoy instead, and none of them were nice things towards the man, so she just grumbled silently to herself and walked out of the reception building.

Danny followed her silently, noticing the angrier than usual expression on her face. They reached a room and Sam pushed it open using her key.

Danny frowned when she entered without uttering a word. "Wait, where's my room?"

Sam seemed to remember him trailing behind her and walked back to the doorway. She feigned a look of thoughtfulness as she looked a bit around, and then pointed to a sidewalk, "There, on the sidewalk. Enjoy your five star room."

She was about to slam the door in his face, but he used his hand to stop her. He then gave her a look, and said, "You know that if you did slam the door, I could just as easily phase in, right?"

_Stupid_, Sam rolled her eyes and walked back into the room and ignored him. She put her bags down on one of the beds, choosing the one by the door. She figured that if anything happened, she'd have a closer escape to the exit than Danny.

There were two beds in the room, separated by a commode. There was a small bathroom at the furthest corner from the door, and the furnishing looked old and burned out.

When Danny moved to put his things on the other bed, he sniffed and scrunched up his face. "What the hell is that smell?"

Sam smelled it too. She shook her head and stared at the chipping walls, the burned out rug, the cracks in the headboard of the bed. "Not your finest, but it'll do for tonight," she sighed.

"I wonder what Cole would think about this," Danny couldn't help smirk at her. "Pretty scandalous, sharing a room with another guy while you already have a boyfriend back home."

Sam turned to him with a glare. "His name is _Noel_, and I said that you are done talking about him. You said enough yesterday."

"Yet I feel like there's so much more that I need to say," Danny shook his head absentmindedly. "Your taste in guys used to be a bit more decent."

Sam had been rifling through her suitcase to wear something else, since she'd been in the same clothes all day, so slammed it closed angrily and turned to Danny. "_You_ were a bit more decent, you asshole. You still think you have a right to say anything about him after all that happened? Danny, you _spied_ on me. When I was on a date with my boyfriend. _Again_."

"I wasn't spying on you," Danny scoffed. "I was watching over you, making sure the creep didn't try to do anything."

"Do you _hear_ yourself?" Sam exclaimed. "Noel is not a creep! He is a nice, sweet guy, who couldn't hurt a fly. The only creep here is _you_."

"Well, _excuse me_ for trying to protect you," Danny shook his head in disbelief at her and turned back to his suitcase. "Last time I was suspicious about a guy I was right anyway."

"Okay, that's it." Sam couldn't believe he'd stoop so low as to mention Gregor or Elliot or whatever the hell his name was. "Get out."

Danny did the same thing to his suitcase and turned to her. "Whether you like it or not, we kind of have to share this room."

Sam wasn't even listening to him; she walked to the door, opened it, and turned to him. "Go make yourself useful and bring us some food. And take your time, _Inviso Bill_."

Danny glared at her at his old Danny Phantom nickname, but at the determined look on her face, he stalked out of the room anyway.

Sam slammed the door the minute he was out, fuming. How _dare_ he. Not only had he stomped on her privacy with her _boyfriend_ – again – insulted her boyfriend – again – insulted _her_ for being with said boyfriend – _again_ – but he even stood there and _defended _himself. He actually stood there and told her he was only trying to protect her when the only thing he was doing was taking away her privacy and her trust in him.

Sam bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from screaming in frustration. And now she was going to have to share a motel room with him.

_Why_, she thought, _did it have to be Danny freaking Fenton_?

* * *

**A/N:** So... Review? x


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I fully had the intention of updating a day after I posted chapter 2, but I was in Alexandria, and the wi-fi modem my dad had brought along had, for lack of a better term, "run out of wi-fi". So, I had to wait till I was back home in Cairo, which happened a few hours ago. So, here you go! Sorry for the delay x

**Disclaimer:** I don't own DP.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"You're _where_?"

When Danny had taken his precious time with the food, Sam decided to call Tucker and tell him what was happening. When he seemed surprised to hear the news, she felt a little surprised herself to know that Danny hadn't reached him first.

Sam sighed. "In a weird motel in Carson City. We're going to the McCarron International airport tomorrow morning."

"_Nevada_?" Tucker gasped. "You're going to Vegas? _Without me_?"

"Not for _that_," Sam rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "We're catching a plane tomorrow morning. I just want to be out of here as soon as possible."

"I don't know, Sam," even though they were on the phone, she could almost see the sly look on his face. "I think you're secretly enjoying this."

"Right," she said sarcastically, "I'm enjoying staying in a smelly hotel room that I'll have to share with stupid Danny for this stupid night because stupid Danny made us miss our stupid flight. And said idiot has been out for a long time and hasn't been back with our food and I'm starving and _no_, Tucker, I am _not_ enjoying this at all."

She heard Tucker try and cover his laugh on the other end. "I would've thought that shacking up with your 8th grade crush was your long time dream."

Sam was so shocked that he'd actually said that, she sat up on the bed and gaped at the wall. "I can't believe you just said that."

"It's the hard cold truth, Sammy," he said, and Sam narrowed her eyes, realizing he felt all too protected that they were on the phone and so she wouldn't be able to give him a good kick.

"Um, in case you haven't noticed, I have a boyfriend," Sam stated, "and I don't have a crush on Danny anymore. Because I have a boyfriend. You remember Noel, Tucker. _My boyfriend_."

Tucker and Danny were honestly the weirdest creatures on earth. She'd been dating Noel for a few weeks now, and still the boys never acknowledged his existence as her boyfriend. Tucker, however, was more nonchalant with it than Danny was. Whenever Sam mentioned Noel in front of the Ghost Boy, he got this dark expression and changed the subject. She never knew why until he'd blurted it on their last day at the beach, admitting he'd had a bad feeling about him and was even spying on them to make sure he kept his hands to himself. _That_ hadn't gone over too well. Sam and Danny ended up having this huge fight, and none of them were ready to talk it out calmly yet because they were still bristling with each other.

She didn't understand how anyone could possibly hate Noel. He wasn't like the usual guys she'd dated – he wasn't a Goth, or a vegetarian, or hardcore. He was a sweet guy, with dark brown hair and brown eyes, an okay body – he wasn't really the type to work out, but Sam didn't really mind – and a more than okay personality. He was so attentive and understanding and deep and Sam felt like she could talk to him about anything. He listened to all the music she did, watched the same movies she did, read the same books she did. And while she was dark and sarcastic he was light and funny so that it was kind of like they completed each other.

Sam knew it was very cheesy thinking like that, but that was why she liked him. True, they hadn't known each other that long, but she felt like this guy might be the actual thing. He wasn't like most guys she'd dated over the years – he wasn't hard to get, didn't act cocky around her, didn't treat her one way when they were alone and then another way in front of his friends. He called her exactly when he said he would, and called her directly after their first date to tell her how much fun he'd had, neglecting the 72 hours first date rule. He says everything she needs to hear, when she needs to hear it, and honestly, Sam couldn't ask for anything better.

Tucker snorted on the other end. "Right. Okay, Sammy."

"Stop calling me that," Sam's expression darkened. She was about to make another remark, when she heard a weird shuffling in the background. "Where are you, anyway?"

Tucker sighed, and then she heard a distant voice call out his name. "See you home, Sam. Enjoy your time like I'm sure you will."

Before Sam could make another retort, Tucker hung up. She sighed, and then fell back onto the bed. She tried to ignore the gurgle her stomach made, and wondered again where Danny was with their food. Even though she'd told him to take his time, she was starting to regret it when her hunger consumed her.

The silence and her aloneness left her with her thoughts, and they kept trailing to Danny and their fight. She _still _didn't know how Danny could think anything bad about Noel. So far, he was the only guy she'd dated who was good to her in every sense of the way. Never kept her waiting, was always a true gentleman, paid every time they went out, despite her constant arguing.

She felt even angrier about this particular boyfriend being spied on, because she actually liked this one. Even at 17, even while they were now juniors in high school, Danny was still irritable and over protective about every single guy who walks up to her and asks her on a date. True, even though some of the guys Danny was right about – like Jake, who turned out to be cheating on her for the entire time; Marshall, who was only dating her to get closer to her rich and successful parents; and last but not least, Jasper, who took her out on one date and then resumed trying to get her into bed with him. Sam hadn't had the best of luck when it came to dating – but frankly, no one's luck was worse than Tucker's, she had to admit – so that was why she was so pissed off at her best friend, because she'd actually found a guy who wasn't like all of those other creeps, and the halfa was determined to ruin this relationship for her.

She didn't even know _why_. Danny was always overprotective and suffocating and always left her stomach in knots, but this time he didn't really have a valid reason.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the door to their room opened and said halfa walked in, carrying two plastic bags in his hands. Sam sat up and asked him irritably, "What took you so long?"

"You told me to take my time," Danny answered her shortly, walking over to his bed and setting the bags down on the commode. "Besides, I had to fly over town to find a restaurant that served decent portions of salads, and that's not an easy feat in a city you're not familiar with."

Sam wanted to remark that he could've just ordered her a green salad from anywhere, but didn't, too hungry and grateful for the food. He'd gotten her a large green salad with dressing, a diet coke, and chocolate brownies, which he knew she loved.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Sam devouring almost all of the salad in one bite, and she then dared ask, "Is this your way of apologizing?"

Danny swallowed the lump of meat in his throat. "Apologize for what?"

"You know what," Sam rolled her eyes at him.

Danny stared at her in defiance, and said, "I have nothing to apologize for. I still maintain that I did the right thing and will still keep an eye on that guy when we get back home."

Sam shook her head, looking away from him and at her food. "You know what? I lost my appetite."

She slammed the plastic cover of her salad box a little too forcefully and put it down on the bed. When she started walking away from the bed, Danny asked, "But you haven't even eaten your brownies yet."

"You can take your stupid brownies and shove 'em up your–"

"Where are you even going?" Danny cut her off, as she made her way into bathroom.

"To the Taj Mahal," she turned back to him in the doorway of the bathroom to give him a sarcastic look. "Where do you think I'm going, dumbass?"

She didn't wait for him to respond and slammed the bathroom door. Danny sighed and shook his head at her from behind the closed door, not knowing why she won't understand that he was only trying to protect her.

When he heard the water running and realized she was taking a shower, he finished his meal and then shoved the plastic box into the bag and threw the bag into the small waste basket in their room. Sam hadn't finished her salad, but her diet coke can was empty, so he threw it in the bin and shoved the salad in the plastic bag along with the brownies that she hadn't even touched. He spotted a mini-fridge next to his bed and shoved the bag inside.

He went over to his suitcase and started bringing out clothes he would sleep in. Usually he slept in his boxers, and on hot nights like this, shirtless, but with Sam in the room, he tugged on shorts and a blue t-shirt.

He was shoving his clothes back into the suitcase when he saw it.

He didn't know whether it was there for the entire time or not, but either way, his reaction was the same: he let out a shriek – he liked to think it was a manly shriek (but I think we all know what kind of shriek it was) – and instinctively jumped on the bed, squeezing his toes in disgust.

He heard the water shut off in the bathroom, and yelled, "Sam! Stay inside; it's not safe in here!"

Sam, however, was stubborn and curious. She wrapped a towel on one of the racks around her quickly and stumbled into the room to see what Danny was freaking out about.

She was met with the sight of a terrified-looking Danny standing on his bed, his eyes wide and his back bent so that he could take off in a run at any second.

"There's nothing here, Danny." when she saw that the room was empty, she turned to glare at him, feeling self-conscious that she was clad in nothing but a towel.

Danny seemed like he was making a decision, so he hurriedly got off the bed in long strides, took Sam into his arms as she squeaked at his cold hands on her wet skin, and he ran, half-carrying her, back onto his bed.

"Get off me!" she elbowed him, trying to keep the towel from falling as she regained her balance on the mattress. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"How can you not see it? It's _huge_." Danny muttered, his eyes fixated on something on the floor.

Sam was still frowning in confusion as her eyes trailed from him and back to the room, and she saw the giant spider on the ground.

Sam didn't know whether to laugh or cry at him, so she went with sarcasm. "Danny. You're a half-ghost who fights deadly ghosts who constantly want to kill you on a daily basis; you almost died in a million fights yet you're fearless against said ghosts. And you're telling me that you're afraid… _of a freaking spider_?"

Danny was actually hiding behind her, looking at the spider on the ground as it moved slowly. "Can you please just kill it?"

Sam scoffed. "_Me_? You're the guy!"

"But it's just so disgusting," Danny groaned from behind her. "Just look at it move with those legs. I think it wants to kill me. Does it look like it's glaring at me?"

"Jesus Christ!" She shoved him away and stepped off of the bed and onto the ground. She was astonished and was staring at Danny's terror in disbelief. "You are a disturbed human being, Fenton."

"Please, Sam," he groaned again. "Just kill it."

Sam looked up at the sky, her face an expression of '_why me why me?' _as she walked away from the bed and towards Danny's suitcase. She brought out the first shirt she found and then walked slowly to the spider. She laid the shirt on the ground in front of it and waited for it to climb on. When it did, she carefully lifted the shirt back up, and walked to the door. Softly balancing the shirt and the spider on one hand, she used the other to open the door. The cool air rushed in and greeted her slight nakedness behind the towel, and she put the t-shirt with the spider down and then shut the door.

"There," she turned back to Danny and then held onto her towel, feeling it loosen around her.

Danny squeaked. "You just used my t-shirt and now it's gone forever."

"Too bad!" Sam slammed the bathroom door without a second glance.

"… But that was my favorite t-shirt…"

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**A/N:** I hope you liked it! Revieww x


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me - but you already knew that.

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**Chapter 4**

The next morning, the lovebirds checked out of the motel and walked to the nearest bus station and took the first bus to Vegas. Once there, they took a cab and headed to the airport directly, despite Danny's pleas at giving the city a little tour.

Sam headed off to book the plane tickets, and Danny found a little café in the airport for him and Sam to have breakfast in. He ordered himself eggs and bacon, ignoring the fact that Sam would spend their entire breakfast chastising him, and ordered her a grilled cheese sandwich and juice.

Sam came back just as the food arrived, two tickets and their passports in her hands. "There's no plane to Indiana sooner than two days from now," she told him, "so I booked us a plane to Colorado and from there we take a plane to Indiana."

Danny shook his head as he dug into his food. "I can't believe we're going transit when the direct flight is only four hours."

"I know," Sam agreed as she chewed on her sandwich. "I never thought I'd want to get on a plane as much as I did now."

"At least planes don't have spiders," Danny grumbled darkly into his food.

Sam rolled her eyes at him. "Jesus, Daniel, just build a bridge and get over it."

Sam knew Danny hated spiders. But not to this extent. She'd never actually witnessed his reaction upon seeing one before, and now that she has, she really wished she didn't. He even complained to the receptionist when they were checking out that morning, but all the man did was stare at him blankly and say, "Spiders? What are you talking about? There are no spiders here."

"America's Best Value Inn," Danny had muttered on the bus ride. "The only good value about it was how much value it lacked."

"So," they'd been eating their breakfast in silence until Danny broke it. "You still mad at me?"

"Are you willing to apologize?" Sam asked with the same tone he'd used, not looking up from her food.

"No," he said shortly.

"Then yes," Sam said, "I am still mad at you."

Sam saw Danny smirk out of the corner of her eyes. "Good."

* * *

The duo was heading towards their terminal, beating their deadline and moving to the plane thirty minutes before they were supposed to in order to wait right in front of the door. They couldn't risk missing another flight, or else Sam would _really_ have it with all these airports.

Sam and Danny were the first in the waiting room, and so far, no one else had come yet. The flight attendant had disappeared behind the door they were supposed to walk through, leaving Danny and Sam alone in the spacious room.

Danny and Sam had been sitting in silence since breakfast, the tension thick around them. Danny, unable to stand the silence anymore, got up and started heading towards the vending machine.

The thing he loved most about airports was the gift shops, cafes, and vending machines. Even though he only wanted a soda, the endless rows of chocolate bars and crisps attracted him.

He decided against a soda and inserted a dollar into the machine, aiming for a Snickers bar. He waited patiently as the dollar was swallowed, only to be ejected back a few seconds later. Danny removed the bill from the entrance slip and tried to straighten it as much as possible, then reinserted into the machine.

The machine accepted the bill, so he pressed the button for the chocolate bar. The round thing that released the chocolate started rotating, but the chocolate, almost like stereotypes, got stuck in the machine and refused to fall.

Danny couldn't believe his luck. "You've got to be kidding me. This is like the oldest cliché in the book…"

He refrained from banging the machine and instead took the mature road less travelled and inserted another dollar and selected a soda instead. However, this time, the machine swallowed the bill but the rotating thing didn't even rotate this time.

"What the hell?" Danny exclaimed, even though he was well aware that the vending machine was an inanimate object and would not respond. For lack of better actions, he banged the machine, but again, none of the items he wanted fell. Even though he established that banging the machine would not help, he banged it a few more times.

He sighed angrily and took a few steps backwards, regarding his new enemy. Then a thought hit him. He narrowed his eyes at his new idea, then discreetly looked around the room. The only person there was Sam, and she was sitting on one of the chairs, too busy staring at her phone – probably texting her stupid boyfriend, Danny thought darkly – to notice Danny.

He stared at the machine and smiled at it sweetly, mocking it. He turned only his left hand intangible as he reached into the glass screen and towards his chocolate bar. He felt no guilt at this, since he _had_ inserted two dollars – in fact, he was only taking what was rightfully his.

The rotating thing had lodged itself at an annoying angle in the chocolate bar, so he was focused and careful to remove it without breaking the chocolate.

Too late he realized he could've just turned it intangible as well, but by then, there was little he could do. He hadn't even heard Sam get up to walk up to him, but seconds later his hand was stuck inside the machine.

"Wha–" He tried turning his hand intangible again, only to have the handcuffs zap him. He turned his other hand intangible and tried to pry the handcuffs off, but they zapped him when he tried that as well. "Sam!"

Sam had discreetly walked over to him, and actually handcuffed his hand to the inside of the machine into the rotating thing by its base. She had one of the Fentons' new handcuffs, which were laced with ectoplasm and so Danny's hand, which had been intangible, turned tangible inside and outside the machine so that he couldn't turn it intangible back and his hand was stuck.

The minute Sam saw the expression on his face, she broke out in laughter. "Don't look at me – you're the one who gave me these useless handcuffs at the beginning of our trip. But I guess they weren't so useless after all."

"What are you doing?" Danny resorted to trying to pull his hand out of the cuffs, even though they were pretty tough and scraped at his wrist. "Sam, let me out!"

Sam folded her arms across her chest defiantly. "You were stealing."

"I was _not_ stealing anything! The machine swallowed my money and now I just want my chocolate and my soda!"

"Oh," Sam said, not having expected that. Danny then looked at her with a '_can you let me out of here now_?' look, but Sam had another idea. She smirked at him and said, "Oh, I don't know. Are you ready to apologize yet?"

Danny stopped tugging at his arm and gave her a look. "You're kidding."

"Well, _I _would love to let you go," Sam raised both her eyebrows and feigned a look of innocence, "but the key has other ideas."

Just to antagonize him even more so, she got the key to the handcuffs out of her pocket and waved it in the air in front of him. Danny narrowed his eyes at the key, and then lunged forward to snap it out of her fingers.

Sam was faster though. "Uh-uh-uh," she sing-songed. "I don't hear an apologyyy…"

"That's because you're not getting one," Danny sing-songed back at her. He tried to use her distraction and lunged at the key again, but she stepped farther than he could reach with his hand in the machine.

"Oh, well, that's too bad," Sam stood several feet away from him, and no matter how hard he tugged, his hand hovered a few inches from her, unable to reach her. "Because I have a flight to catch."

"People are going to be here any minute," Danny hissed at her, going for a different tactic. "Secret ghost identity? Hello?"

Sam rolled her eyes, seeing he had a convincing point. She wasn't ready to stop torturing him though. Seeing as there were still no people, she shrugged, and took the few steps she needed to stand in front of him. "Fine." She held out the key in front of him teasingly, but as he moved to take it, she moved her hand away. "Come and take it."

She stayed in her place, but teasingly, she put the key into her mouth and closed it.

Danny couldn't help the look he gave her. "What are you, like, five? Give me the key, Sam."

She didn't talk, afraid she'd open her mouth and he'd take the key, so she just shrugged and gave him a defiant look. "Sam." She shook her head at him and tried not to open her mouth as she smiled. "_Samantha. Give me the damn key_."

Even though she still didn't open her mouth, she kicked him in the shin at the use of her full name. It didn't seem to hurt him as much as she'd wanted, but he winced and automatically bent down to rub the sore area in which she'd hit him.

"Okay, fine," he told her, "you wanna play rough? I can play rough."

He hesitated for a few moments, but then he narrowed his eyes at her in determination and then pulled at her lips with his free hand. Sam anticipated this, and had her jaw laced shut as tight as she could. Danny's arm tired at clawing at her jaw, her mouth, trying to force her lips open only to fail each time.

He retracted his hand back and placed it on his hip, sighing and glaring at Sam. She'd been trying to hold her laughter all that time at all the expressions that had crossed his face as he tried to get her to open her mouth, but her lips were sealed shut.

Danny smirked at a new idea. "Would Sammy-kins like to let me go? Give me the key, Sammy. Come on, you know you want to."

He expected her first reaction was to snap at him for coddling her and tell him not to call her that, but instead she just narrowed her eyes at him in a silent glare, but didn't open her mouth.

Danny started getting anxious. He knew how stubborn Sam could be – almost as stubborn as him – so he had to find a way to get that key, fast, before anyone saw his hand stuck inside the vending machine and started asking questions.

And then another idea hit him. Obviously, trying to pry her mouth open wasn't working; neither was trying to get her to talk to open her mouth by insulting her. He was about to dismiss the idea, but then he thought, why the hell not? She was already mad at him anyway, and he needed that key.

Danny's hand reached up, but instead of trying to open Sam's mouth, he cupped her cheek. His fingers stroked her skin, then cupped her hair. Sam had frozen at his sudden touch, but she knew he was trying to distract her. She glared at him and clutched the hand at her cheek and twisted it down in front of her.

She shook her head at him in a smug matter, knowing she'd won. However, Danny wasn't finished. He twisted his arm in her grip and reached for her waist. Sam squeaked in surprise, but her mouth hadn't opened yet. Danny used his grip on her and drew her closer to him in one swift motion so that she was pressed up against him, his arm now around her back.

Sam's eyes were wide in shock, but her mouth was _still_ slammed shut. Danny didn't want to go that far, but if Sam wanted to do this the hard way, then so would he.

He feared that going slow would make her anticipate it, so in one motion, his hand moved from her waist to her lower back until it was cupping her ass.

He grinned in satisfaction when Sam gasped and tried to push away from him. "What the hell do you think you're–"

Using reflexes so fast Sam didn't even have time to blink, his hand was in her mouth and his fingers seized the key. Sam pushed his hand away from her, holding the key, as she coughed and stepped away from him.

"Yes!" Danny exclaimed in satisfaction, not even waiting to gloat and immediately unlocking the handcuffs on his wrist. It glowed green and then his hand was free, so he turned it intangible and brought it out.

"I win this round, Manson," Danny wiggled his free hand in front of her face. "And look, right on time."

He noticed some passengers enter the waiting room, and the flight attendant, who had been gone for the past few minutes was now at the door, ready to receive the passengers' tickets and board them on the plane.

Sam stalked away from him and towards their bags. "You win, huh?"

"Um," Danny frowned at her in confusion, since she'd just been there as he grabbed the key away from her, and they grabbed their bags and started heading towards the door. "Yes. I did."

At the door, right before she gave the flight attendant her ticket, she turned to smirk at him, "Then where's your bar of chocolate?"

Danny stared after her as realization dawned on him that after all he'd gone through, he _still_ didn't get the bar of chocolate that started all of this.

_Stupid Sam Manson_, Danny thought as he gave the flight attendant his ticket and started boarding the plane. _Curse you, infernal vending machine!_

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**A/N:** Hope you're enjoying it so far! Revieww x


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Danny Phantom, it belongs to Butch Hartman.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

The plane ride was only ten minutes in after they took off and it was already bristling.

Well, Sam was bristling. Danny was just sitting there innocently and wondered why she was bristling, even though he knew exactly why.

"You're burning a hole in my head," Sam simply stated, snapping him out of his reverie. He blinked, realizing he'd been staring at her.

"That's because you're beautiful," Danny blurted.

Sam turned to give him a look. "You're full of shit." Before Danny could even blink at himself for that random blurt, she hastily added, "Since you don't have the window seat, bring me my bag; I forgot something."

Danny didn't even think about it as he got up and opened the gloved compartment above their seats.

Once Sam took out the thing she'd wanted from her bag – Danny was curious to why she suddenly craved a notebook and a pencil, though he was pretty sure it involved drawing him in the mouth of an alligator – he started shoving the thing back into the compartment.

Now, here's the thing about Sam's bag. It wasn't that it was heavy… It was that it was disproportionate. Even though Sam was the tidiest of their trio, she seemed to have aimlessly shoved things into the bag so that in some corners, things were jutting out, and in some corners, they were flat and bended. That proved to be a problem as Danny struggled to put the bag into the overhead compartment and making it fit. It wasn't that big, but the compartment was unnaturally small and his backpack was already taking up so much space.

"Damn it," Danny muttered under his breath. "Why won't this thing go in already?"

Sam sighed. "Do you want me to get up and do it myself?"

"No, I don't," Danny glared at her. "I don't need your stupid sarcasm or female capabilities speeches and I definitely don't need your help to put a stupid bag into a glove compartment."

Sam rolled her eyes and chose to stay silent instead, knowing that karma was on her way soon. She watched in amusement as Danny struggled to fit the bag in, attracting the attention of a few passengers nearby.

She didn't even flinch as he damaged the bag in more ways than were possible. She was actually amused, and couldn't help but be a little smug at the dents and scrapes he was leaving on her Gucci bag. That would teach her mother to slip her a designer bag instead of the cheap one she'd told her.

A flight attendant made her way over to their aisle, a worried look on her face. "Sir? Is there a problem?"

"Actually, I have a problem," Sam said. "My travel partner is a complete disaster."

Danny glared at her, but as he tried to close the cabinet, it finally did, trapping the bag inside.

"Ha!" he grinned triumphantly at the Goth. "See? I told you I could make it–"

Sam had predicted that karma would act soon, and it did; in the shape of a Gucci purse on Danny's head.

Sam couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped her. She knew that if she and Danny were on good terms, she'd rush over and make sure he was okay, and he did seem to be in a lot of pain, but all she could do was laugh at the pain on his face, knowing he kind of deserved it.

"Sir, are you okay?" the flight attendant, however, blanched, and was trying to maintain a polite distance yet be close enough to Danny in case he needed her help. He was kneeling in front of his seat, moaning in pain, clutching his head in his hands.

"What the hell do you have in that bag, Manson?" Danny looked up at her, trying to glare at her through his grimace. "Stones?"

Sam leaned close to him as if sharing a deep secret. "Danny Phantom voodoo dolls that I stick knives in and pretend to murder."

She started laughing even more at the expression on his face, settling into her chair. The flight attendant felt so bad for him that she helped him into his seat, and then told him she'd be right back with a pain killer.

Danny was about to mention the bag when the woman simply pulled it up and shoved it into the overhead compartment. With one shove and one tug, the cabinet slammed shut and the flight attendant raced off.

Sam only laughed harder at that while Danny stared off as she walked away in shock. "They say men are only useful for when we hear a weird sound downstairs and for opening pickle jars, but I think the real quote is that that's all men are only useful for when a woman is not around."

Danny's head was pounding too hard, so he resisted the urge to turn and glare at her, afraid the throbbing in his temple would get worse. The flight attendant was then back with the painkiller and a glass of water, and waited patiently by Danny's side as he finished it.

Danny closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, wishing the weird stars behind his closed eyelids would go away. The back of his head was hurting so bad he thought it was going to explode, and he was starting to feel nauseous. "I don't know how," he told her, "but somehow, _you_ made this happen."

"You know, you might have a concussion," Sam stated as she looked out of the window and admired the terrain they were flying over, even though she couldn't make out anything specific within the flecks of green and brown.

Danny waited for her to add something else to her statement. Usually, what came after a statement like that was a concerned, 'Maybe you should see a doctor', or she could've at least asked him questions to make sure his brain was functioning properly.

When she didn't, Danny asked, his voice a little hoarse from all the throbbing at his head, "That's your concerned curiosity?"

Sam snorted. "I was just making a statement. Hey, maybe you'll even go bonkers a little and actually apologize for the whole Noel thing." She turned to glare at him. "And the inappropriate ass-grabbing."

Danny grinned at her as she faded in front of his eyes. "Your ass is a little boney."

Sam gaped at him, but didn't have time to react or pull his hair when he suddenly blurted, "I'm going to go throw up now."

"Ew." Sam said after he suddenly burst out of his chair and raced towards the back, where the toilet was. She leaned over his chair to watch as he bumped into a few passengers, who were minding their own business in their seats, and then stumbled towards the bathroom, struggling to get the door open and then finally stumbled inside.

She leaned back in her seat and didn't know whether to roll her eyes or laugh. She knew she probably should've showed a little more concern, but hey, he could've shown a little more concern when he was spying on her and her boyfriend.

No dice, Fenton, she thought smugly to herself, unable to resist laughing again when the image of her bag falling on Danny's head replayed itself in her mind.

Danny had spent quite a while in the bathroom. He hadn't lied when he'd told Sam he was going to throw up – the minute he'd gotten the damn door to lock, he bent over the toilet seat and threw up everything in his stomach. Even after he was sure his stomach was empty, he retched and retched, the pounding in his head getting worse and worse.

He walked through his headache back to his seat. He didn't wait for Sam to say anything as he rested his head back onto the seat and closed his eyes. His head was pounding too hard for him to sleep, but he thought not moving would make his headache better.

Little by little, the pounding began to subside. Danny was relieved as he felt every drumming lessen, until there was only a silent hum in his brain. He doubted a pain killer could work so fast, and thanked God for his ghost powers and his ability to heal faster than humanely possible.

When the captain announced that they would be landing soon, Sam got up herself to put her things back into her purse. Danny was even more upset when she pushed it back into the compartment with one easy shove.

He glared at the chair in front of him and tried not to acknowledge her knowing stare as she sat back down in her seat.

After they landed and the bustle of a crowded airplane almost choked them to death, they finally made their way over to the baggage carousel. The duo knew it would be a long wait, so they decided to take turns keeping a look out for their bags.

They expected to stay there at least another half hour, but a half hour turned into two hours, and the hundreds of passengers that had been milling around the carousel shrank to zero.

"Um, Sam," when Danny and Sam had stood by the carousel, staring at the empty baggage conveyer rotate and rotate, but no bags were coming out, they both came to the same conclusion at the same time. "I don't think our bags are on their way."

Sam turned to the first man she saw, who happened to be a janitor. "Excuse me," she and Danny walked over to him, looking like lost puppies. "Our bags seem to be missing. Do you know anyone we could talk to about this?"

He gave them directions, and they headed towards an airline desk in the luggage hall. Thankfully, the woman behind the desk this time was friendlier and more compassionate to their case than the woman who had greeted them in LA.

They filed a report about their missing luggage, Sam fuming for the entire time. The woman told them that the luggage may have been accidently sent to another airport, and they would try and locate it and send it back to them immediately.

"You know what," Sam sighed at the woman as they handed her their forms. "Once you find our stuff, don't bother sending it back here. Just send it to _Amity Airlines_ in Amity Park, Indiana. We want to book the nearest flight to there anyways."

The woman gave them their tickets and told them the next flight was only in two hours. Sam thanked her and she and Danny found some chairs to sit on in the hall as they waited.

"So," Sam had already leaned back in her chair, trying to get comfortable, when Danny broke the silence. "What do we do in two hours?"

"We wait," she told him. She knew that they wouldn't really have to wait for all of that time – just until the voice in the microphone told them it was time for them to board the plane.

And so they waited. Sam had gotten out a book from her purse and was reading, and Danny had resorted to playing Minion Rush on his phone, even though he hated the game. Danny had tried making conversation with the Goth, but a few minutes in, he realized she was still steaming with him and was only associating with him in the meantime because they needed to catch a flight together.

An hour and a half later, a voice boomed over the speakers. "_Ladies and gentlemen_," it said, "_We're gravely sorry to inconvenience you, but flight 213 to Amity Park, Indiana has been cancelled due to weather conditions. For more information_–"

Sam tuned out the rest of her speech as she stalked away from the chair and back to the woman behind the desk. She didn't even give the woman a chance to speak before she yelled, "Tell me this is a joke."

The woman frowned at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, miss Manson," she said, remembering her name from earlier, "but the weather is too powerful for any plane to depart."

"It's _summer_," Sam scoffed at her, gaping in disbelief. "How powerful is a storm in the _summer_ to lead to a flight delay?" Sam took a deep breath to steady herself, pinching the bridge of her nose as she calmed herself down. Once she steadied herself, she looked back at the woman, who, frankly, was starting to get a bit scared, and said, "Has the flight been delayed?"

The woman nodded immediately. "Yes, it's been delayed to tomorrow morning at 11:00 am."

Sam wanted to punch the lady even more. She expected her to say a few more hours until the storm passed, but she hadn't expected that she would have to wait an entire night until the flight. With Danny.

"Great," she told the woman. "Well, what are we supposed to do now? I bet those chairs look comfortable. Are we even allowed to sleep over in this airport, or will you lose us too? And then are you going to delay us as well and force us to wait yet _another_ night–"

The woman's eyes were wide in shock and fear at the crazy, pissed off look on Sam's face, so she was really grateful when Danny quickly rushed over and yet again, shoved Sam from in front of the desk and put a hand over her mouth. This time, he was holding her from behind, so her struggles were even more feeble than the first time.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs.…" he read her name tag, and then looked back up to her with a smile. "… Hamilton. She's just really irritable; we just want to get home and have been on the road for two days now. Is there any way you could help us out?"

Mrs. Hamilton nodded at him, her expression going more appreciative at the tightening grip around Sam, who was rolling her eyes at him. "There's a five star hotel, really magnificent, at the end of the street–"

Danny frowned at her. "No, no, thanks, nothing fancy. We just want any cheap motel we could spend the night in, is all."

Mrs. Hamilton nodded in understanding and started looking for something on her computer for them. While she looked, Sam kicked Danny in the shin, and because he hadn't expected it, he squealed silently in surprise and let her go.

"Jesus," Sam muttered at him. "Would you stop doing that?"

Danny found that, yet again, she'd licked his palm, and starting wiping her saliva all over her t-shirt with a frown as he retaliated, "Would _you_ stop doing _that_? It's disgusting."

Ever so maturely, Sam flicked his hand away from her and folded her arms across her chest, waiting for the woman. She finally looked back up at them with a cheerful look, and said, "It's a very low-class motel, but it's cheap and just what you're looking for. I also booked you a cab to take you there and it's currently waiting outside."

Sam was too angry to say a proper thank you, so she just muttered a disgruntled "Thanks" and started walking towards the airport exit.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hamilton," Danny smiled warmly at her as he started following the ill-tempered Goth.

"You're welcome, dear," she said. "And sorry about all the inconveniences."

Danny shrugged, giving her one last smile before he walked away. Mrs. Hamilton couldn't control it so she burst after him, "Good luck with that girlfriend of yours."

Danny frowned at her. "She's not my girlfriend."

He started walking away before she could say anything. Mrs. Hamilton watched the Goth girl stalk away, the boy following behind her, and bit her lip guiltily. "That information would've been nice before I booked you two the same room with one bed," she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. Once they disappeared through a door, she shrugged. "Oh well."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Hai. Thanks for your reviews you awesome people. Kay. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** DP doesn't belong to me.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"This is your fault."

Danny glared at her. "Yes, Sam. It's my fault we lost our luggage. It's my fault the umbrella flipped out and now are rendered useless. It's my fault we are drenched. Anything else you want to blame me for?"

Sam feigned a look of thoughtfulness. "Global warming."

"Ha," Danny said. "Funny."

They resumed glaring at each other as they continued walking towards their destination. The idiot cab driver dropped them off two blocks away from the motel, claiming that this was where he was told to drop them off and refused to drive two more blocks, so now the duo was fast-walking in the pouring rain towards the motel. Even though the driver had given them an umbrella, it had flipped out in the wind and was rendered useless. The motel was now in sight, with flickering neon signs spelling _Motel 8_ hanging on the side of the building.

Sam didn't understand why there was rain. Obviously, she loved the rain, the way it flowed down her arms and her face and seemed to wash away every bad emotion – but not this time. This time, she was cold, angry, and the rain only made it worse.

They finally reached the motel and raced into the warm interior, both breathing a sigh of relief to be out of the rain and the cold. The reception was small, and the lights were flickering, and a bored receptionist stood at the counter.

When they approached her, she said, in monotone, "Room 45 is vacant and has been booked for you. Here's the key." She handed a confused Danny the key. "Walk down this hallway and your room is at the end on the right. Enjoy your stay at Motel 8."

They mumbled their thank you's and headed towards their room. The motel smelled of rotting carpeting, and every once in a while the light bulbs flickered.

"They couldn't have chosen a decent motel?" Danny mumbled as he eyed the cobwebs on the walls.

"At least it's cheap," Sam offered, opting for some positivity for the first time.

They reached their room and unlocked the door. Sam was relieved to finally be in a constant place where there was a bed, a shower, and a warm comforter.

But once she and Danny entered the room, her anger refueled.

"This is one bed," Sam turned to Danny accusingly. "_This room only has one bed_."

"I am aware of that," Danny grimaced. "The lady at the desk thought we were a couple so must've booked us one room with one bed."

"That's it," Sam took off her bag and set it angrily on the bed. "I'm suing the airport. Right after I'm done with getting us separate rooms. Excuse me."

Danny watched as she stalked out of the room, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. Well, she actually didn't, but Danny thought that if they were in a cartoon, the animators would put a trail of anger behind her to emphasize it.

He set his bag down on the bed and then realized he was still wet. He was about to pull out dry clothes to change into when he realized that they didn't have their luggage.

Then he was hit with the fact that he and Sam were wet, and didn't have any dry clothes to change into, and doubted the motel had any gift shop they could buy anything from.

He groaned out loud and grimaced. Sam was going to _love_ this.

As if she heard his thoughts, she stalked back into the room, seething even more. "The stupid woman won't let me rent another room because this one was already booked and claimed that it was motel policy. _Even though there's no one else here and she could just as easily rent me the room in front of this one_, but _nooo_, 'motel policies are there for a reason'. This is just great, now we have to–" She frowned when she noticed the slightly sheepish expression on his face. "What?"

"Um… We're wet."

"What, really?" Sam raised her eyebrows in a look of mocked surprise. "I didn't know rain could do that to you."

"No, Sam, we're wet, and the airport lost our luggage," Danny refrained the urge to roll his eyes. "We don't have anything dry to wear."

Sam's expression completely flipped. "Shit. _Shit_. Okay, you know what, I'm sending the airport a really long, really angry message of complaint. Right now."

"You and what computer?" Danny snorted. When Sam glared at him as she realized he was right, he sighed and said, "Here, you can use mine."

He opened his backpack and pulled out his little note. He'd only gotten it along because Tucker asked him to, because it was so outdated that it can survive endless dropping and bumping and still work. It was like an old Nokia phone, except it was a tablet.

"Actually, that's a great idea," Sam took the laptop from him but set it down on the coffee table at the end of the room. "I know I have no clothes in my bag, but you shove pretty much everything in front of you in yours, so let's see whether you have any t-shirt or jacket in there."

"I _do _shove everything in my bag," Danny rubbed the back of his neck and thought they might as well give it a shot. He dumped the contents of his bag onto the bed until the backpack was completely empty.

Sam rifled through the things on the bed. "No, no, no…" she dumped the pair of socks, phone chargers, random candy, and the ghost thermos back into the bag. After that came a chocolate wrapper, keys, a shoe – "Why the hell would you carry around a shoe in your bag? And why would you only carry _one_?" "That's not even mine. I have no idea how that got there." (insert eye roll) – sunglasses, and what she'd thought was a shirt but was actually a small blanket – she didn't even ask about that one.

When they both came to the realization that Danny did not, in fact, have a shirt, they started piling everything else back into the bag silently.

However, when Sam found a lone condom amongst some mints and a notebook, she couldn't help but hold it up to Danny with a raised eyebrow. "Really, Danny? A condom? Really?"

Danny's eyes widened in surprise and a slight blush tinted his cheeks. "That's not mine." When Sam gave him a look, he hastily added, "I mean, it is mine, since it was in my bag, but it wasn't my idea to get it. Tucker put it in there. He wanted me to 'have fun' on this trip."

Sam nodded in understanding, not really surprised. Tucker had always been flabbergasted with Danny, flustered as to why he never used his good looks and body to get girls, but Danny always said that even if he wanted to, he was still clumsy and awkward. Sam always thought he was only using that as an excuse just because he didn't want to actually get girls.

They were done shoving things back into his back when Sam couldn't help but ask, curiously, "So? _Did _you 'have fun'?"

Danny only blushed even more at her question. "Even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't tell _you_."

Sam scoffed and glared at him. "You'd probably be overprotective over the girl that you wouldn't even have sex with her to protect her. Like it's your choice."

Danny zipped up his bag with a glare. "I'm trying to look out for you."

"There's looking out for me and then there's invading my privacy," Sam argued. When Danny was about to fight back, Sam held up her hand warningly and said, "You know what, I'm too tired to fight. I'm just going to quickly send the letter to the airport and then sleep."

"Fine, me too," Danny replied, but they were still glaring at each other.

In unison, both moved to opposite ends of the bed and made to get onto it. Sam gave him a look as he also peeled back the cover, and said, "What are you doing?"

Danny gave her a look that implied that he thought she was crazy. "I'm getting onto the bed, what do you _think_ I'm doing?"

"No, you're not, because you're taking the floor," Sam said.

"What?" Danny stood up straight and gave her a bewildered expression. "Why should I take the floor?"

"Because you're the guy, and you're supposed to be a gentleman," Sam scoffed in explanation.

"Oh, so now _you_ are being sexist," Danny laughed humorlessly. "Um, no. You're taking the floor."

"What kind of gentleman are you, you prick?" Sam glared at him.

"Why the hell should I be a gentleman to someone who calls me a prick? I'm taking the bed."

"Well, I'm not taking the floor."

"Me neither."

"Fine."

"Fine."

They stood on both ends of the bed, continuing their glaring. In unison as well both decided to get onto the bed, which made them glare at each other even more. As Danny got under the covers and snuggled in, Sam opened Danny's laptop and started working on her letter. She could ignore Danny's presence next to her as she typed angrily, consumed in her fury, until she typed the last paragraph of her email. She reread it and edited out some parts that sounded evil more than they sounded like complaints, and once she was satisfied, she hit send, and closed the lid of the laptop.

As she snuggled into the sheets and under the covers, she felt Danny shift beside her as he said, "You done being such a drama queen?"

Sam rolled her eyes and ignored his comment. "Just stay on your side of the bed at all times during the night," she demanded as she and Danny curled up on the bed, their backs facing each other so that they wouldn't have to acknowledge the fact that they were sharing the bed.

"You're so bossy," Danny mumbled.

Sam rolled her eyes but chose not to answer him, trying to cuddle with the cover and roll herself into a ball to get warmer. Her hair was still wet, her clothes clinging to her skin and water dripping from her hair. Each time she tried to adjust her position, a new area of wet fabric touched undisturbed skin, which only made her shiver and colder. Danny, however, thanks to his naturally cold core, wasn't at all affected by the cold, only slightly annoyed at his wetness, but otherwise was comfortable.

During the night, Sam struggled to sleep, either too cold, too uncomfortable, or too irritated with her wet clothes. Danny had slept the minute his head hit the pillow, but kept waking up at different times during the night from Sam moving too much at his side. One time when he woke up, he couldn't help snapping, "Would you stop fidgeting!"

"I can't help it!" Sam said. "My clothes aren't drying and I'm freezing, not to mention the fact that I'm sleeping next to a half-ghost who has a core colder than the weather."

Even though Danny said he wouldn't take the floor, he started considering it when he realized that he may, in fact, be making her even colder than she already was. He became very guilty and was about to apologize and say that he would take the floor when Sam suddenly sat up, restless.

She sighed and pulled her sweatshirt over her head, and when she started moving to take off her t-shirt too, Danny's eyes widened and he stuttered, "Sam, w-what are you doing?"

Sam looked down at him, noticed his panicked expression, and rolled her eyes. "Relax. I'm just laying them out to dry." She was about to pull her shirt over her head when she realized Danny was still staring at her. "Look the other way, Daniel."

He blinked and returned back to the real world and turned the other way. He heard her take off her t-shirt and then heard the unbuckling of a belt, the light shuffling of her laying her clothes on the floor, and then he felt her crawl back under the cover.

"Better?" he asked, clearing his throat slightly, trying to ignore the image of a half-naked Sam lying next to him in bed that popped into his head.

"Mhmm," Sam uttered as a reply, snuggling deeper into the sheets.

Sam dozed off a few minutes after that, tired from a night of no sleep. Danny, however, was suddenly wide awake. Every now and then, he kept on sneaking peaks at her, seeing the back of her head and the upper part of her bare back with her wet hair strewn over the pillow. He longed to run his fingers through the threads of her hair. He longed to run the back of his fingertips on the bare strip of milky skin.

Danny blinked at his thoughts and readjusted his position on the bed. He shook his head, as if shaking the thoughts from his mind, and closed his eyes tight, trying to block out the images in his head and sleep. He was all too aware of Sam half-naked next to him, even if she was covered by the duvet and sleeping, and no matter what he did he couldn't shake that feeling.

He was beginning to regret not taking the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own DP.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Sam didn't wake up to the sun hitting her eyes – in fact, when she did come to, she was surprised at the sun that hit her face, making her squint.

She'd woken from a constant vibration somewhere in the room. She'd looked at her phone, but saw that it wasn't the source of the vibrating. She came to the realization that it was probably Danny's phone, and had almost convinced herself to get up and retrieve it when the vibration stopped.

She closed her eyes again, wanting to fall back asleep, when the vibration started again. Annoyed now, she sighed, sat up, and rubbed her eyes, looking for the phone. She found it on the commode next to Danny, vibrating in place.

She paused as she leaned over to get it, eying Danny's sleeping body below her. The commode was too far away for her to get his phone just by reaching out to it, so she awkwardly leaned over Danny and grabbed for the phone, praying that he wouldn't wake up from the contact her torso made with his.

She quickly sat back in her position, the phone in her hand. She almost threw the phone across the room in irritation when she saw that it was Tucker calling him, waking her up in the process, but resisted and just hung up.

She was about to put the phone back when her eyes swept over the time displayed in the header of his phone. It read 10:15 am.

The sleep that was still in her system disappeared immediately as panic took place. "Shit, shit," she immediately tore the covers off of her and got up. "Danny, wake up!" When he didn't even stir, she threw his phone at him, and it landed on his head.

He woke up at that, yelling an automatic "Ow!", rubbing the sore spot where the phone hit him. He sat up with weary eyes, blinking. "What the hell?"

"It's 10:15," Sam told him. "We need to be in the airport _right now_."

"Didn't you set an alarm for 9:45?" Danny sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning, trying to shake the sleep away. He hadn't slept at all last night after Sam had woken him up, and had only nodded off after the sun had come up and was shining through the window.

"I did, but it didn't wake me up," Sam was frantically collecting her things, shoving her stuff in her bag and doing the same to Danny's.

She didn't even notice that her clothes were still sprawled on the floor by the bed.

Danny, however, did. Once his eyes adjusted to consciousness, his vision narrowed down to Sam's long, muscular legs, her flat, toned stomach, and her black lace underwear. His eyebrows shot all the way up, and even though he knew that it was not the time to check her out, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her stunning figure.

It must've been fatigue, or the fact that he was still half-asleep, because after a few seconds of watching her move around the room, trying to collect all their things, he blurted, "Wow. I was wrong. Your ass isn't bony at all."

Sam turned to him with a confused frown, about to ask him what the hell he meant, when she looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing next to practically nothing. She squealed in shock and grabbed for the first thing she saw, which was a towel hanging on one of the chairs by the coffee table.

Danny couldn't help but laugh at her panicked expression as she tried to cover herself, unable to contain himself. Sam glared at him, and instinctively moved to the foot of the bed. Holding the towel to cover herself with one hand, she used the other to pull at the cover. He'd wrapped himself around it sometime during the night so that when she pulled it, he rolled with it until he ended up over the edge of the bed and banged on the floor.

He groaned and silently greeted the carpet where he'd wished he was last night. It was bittersweet, to say the least.

Sam took the advantage of having his head to the ground and raced over to her clothes. They'd dried, thank God, and she hastily pulled her t-shirt over her head and was pulling up her jeans as Danny started getting up, using the edge of the bed for support and rubbing his nose.

"I really wish you'd stop inflicting physical pain on me," Danny said, remembering all the blows his head had taken in the past two days.

"And I'd really wish you'd stop saying inappropriate things about my body," Sam glared at him as she pulled the sweatshirt over her head. "And about my ass."

Danny had no comeback to that, so only shrugged sheepishly at her. She rolled her eyes at his response and started putting on her shoes as Danny stretched and then bent down to retrieve his shoes as well.

She was putting on the other combat boot when an alarm suddenly blared. She frowned, and then looked over at her phone. She was surprised to find that the alarm she'd set the other night for the morning's plane was activated, the clock reading 9:45.

"What the hell?" she muttered to herself.

Danny seemed to realize what was confusing her and said, "Wait, which phone did you check to see what time it was?"

"Yours," she absentmindedly answered as she closed the alarm. "Why?"

"Um," she turned to find him giving her a sheepish expression. "I kind of set my phone 30 minutes late so that I wouldn't be late to school or any of my classes."

Sam blinked at him, trying to comprehend the nonsense he'd just told her. When she finally comprehended what he'd said, and put together that since Danny was always late a minimum of thirty minutes to his classes, he'd been smart to set his clock that way, she only got angry.

She got up and stalked over to him and started hitting him on the shoulder. "You couldn't have told me that?! You couldn't have given me that valuable piece of information before I almost killed myself trying to try and get us there on time!"

"Ow, Sam!" He'd backed up to get away from her until he bumped into the commode with nowhere else to go. "Stop hitting me!"

She did stop hitting him, shooting a glare his way, and if looks could kill, he would've been a pile of ash on the floor. She grabbed her bag and stomped towards the door and out of the room.

Danny rubbed his sore arm and trailed after her, wondering why she was being such a drama queen.

They checked out of the motel and called a cab and started heading towards the airport. Sam was still seething with anger, and Danny realized that mostly that was what she did when they were sitting next to each other somewhere. He thought that she should calm down a bit more and learn to laugh, and then thought that he should probably be the one to stop pissing her off so much.

They'd been riding in silence, so he was more than mildly surprised when she said, "Danny? Can I have your shoe?"

"Why do you want my–"

"_Please_?"

Befuddled that Sam would make a ridiculous request like that _and_ use the word please for it, he was absentmindedly reaching down to pull his shoe off while he gave her a bewildered look. Once the shoe was off his foot and in her hand, she smiled at him sweetly.

And then she started hitting him with it.

"Of, all, the, idiotic, irresponsible, childish, halfas I could've been stuck with, it had to be _you_!" With every pause, Sam was directing a hit with the shoe to wherever area of skin she could direct at.

Danny, shielding himself with his arm as she swung the shoe at him, yelled, "Sam! Quit hitting me with my shoe!"

Sam was relentless, and she had obviously saved up a lot of pent up frustration with him, because she was letting it out at that moment. Danny tried a few more futile attempts to make her stop, but to no avail. He was only glad his old red Converse All Stars was too old and was basically falling apart so that it didn't really hurt when Sam swung it at him.

Only when the cab driver uttered a nervous, "Um, is everything okay back there?" did Sam finally fling the shoe at his head and lean back in her seat with a defiant expression. "Yes. Everything is fine."

Danny rubbed his sore arm and gave her an exasperated look. "What is wrong with you?"

She scoffed. "_You_. _And _you still never apologized. For _anything_."

"Fine," while Danny put his shoe back on, finding Sam's outburst more comical than serious, he said, "I'm sorry I grabbed your butt that way. I'm sorry I said that it was bony. I'm sorry that I found out that it wasn't bony."

He wanted to take that back because he actually wasn't that sorry he'd seen her half-naked, but he doubted being 100% honest would be the best thing right now.

Sam shook her head as the cab pulled up at the airport. The only response Sam had to Danny's apology as they got out was, "Ugh, you're such an asshole."

Danny could only stare after her in disbelief (she was mad at him when he refused to apologize, and she was mad at him with he did?), but he didn't dare say anything else. Sam made it very clear that she was done talking, and even clearer that if he tried talking, she'd take her own shoe off this time – and he was pretty sure combat boots hurt a lot more than old beat up Converse All Stars. So Danny stayed silent and watched her in amusement as she seethed silently beside him as they boarded the plane.

Sam had shoved her earphones in and had a rock band on so high Danny could hear the lead singer screaming next to her. He tried to entertain himself with a movie, but ten minutes in and his eyes had closed and he'd drifted off to sleep.

Sam only felt him shift at her side when his head shifted due to plane turbulence and then Danny's head was on her shoulder. She thought he was trying to make her forgive him by making her laugh like he'd been doing for the past couple of days and was about to yell at him some more when she looked down and realized his eyes were closed.

Her angry expression softened as she stared down at his peaceful expression. She'd been too angry with him for the past couple of days to actually stop and _look_ at him. But now she didn't really have a choice – and she didn't want to shake his head off her shoulder, afraid she'd wake him up, despite her anger with him. Even though some strands of his hair had fallen onto his forehead, she could still see his eyes, as well as the dark circles under them. With all the jetlag and the weird motel rooms and recent events, neither of them had been getting a fulfilling night's sleep.

Sam stared at the curvature of his face, the light tan he'd attained from days sitting on the beach; the highness of his cheekbones; the softness of his lips… Suddenly and out of the blue she wanted to run her fingers over his lips, to feel how soft they were.

She couldn't resist the urge to touch some part of him, so she tentatively reached out and pushed back some of the hair that was on his forehead back so that she could see his entire face.

Had Danny not shifted slightly in his seat, Sam would've stayed in that position forever. She immediately retracted her hand back and blinked at herself, bewildered at her own actions. She didn't know what that was about, but suddenly she got a really nervous, almost excited, feeling in her stomach. It was in knots, and suddenly she felt like the place where Danny was resting on her shoulder was very hot. She barely heard Led Zeppelin in her ears and only heard her sudden frantic breathing, like she was having a panic attack.

She looked down at Danny sleeping soundly on her shoulder and was hit with another roll of nausea.

What the hell was wrong with her?

Danny woke up to the blaring sound of the pilot over the speakers announcing that they were about to land and should put their seatbelts on. He blinked at Sam at his side, who was staring off into space, tying her seatbelt almost automatically, as if she wasn't aware she was doing it.

He thought it must've just been his imagination, since he was fresh out of sleep. As he tied his own seatbelt, he asked, "We're finally home?"

Sam shook her head, and she blinked, and the light was back in her eyes. "No," her voice had been a little hoarse, so she cleared her throat and repeated, "No. We're in Chicago."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I think I love Supernatural more than I love myself...

Random author's note. Um. Enjoy! x

**Disclaimer: **I don't own DP. Nor do I own my own Jared Padalecki, which kind of sucks even more than not owning DP.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"_Why_ are we in Chicago again?"

"I told you," Sam was a little irritated at how slow Danny was getting this. "The plane ran out of fuel and landed for an impromptu fill-up."

Danny rubbed his eyes, trying to become fully alert and awake now that they were off the plane and in the airport. "Why do we have the funkiest airlines?"

"As long as the plane takes off in an hour, I don't really care," Sam stretched before she sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting area. "I just want to be home on my bed. I'm _so_ over motel beds."

"Yeah. Me too." Danny sat back down next to her.

They sat in silence, but not hostile silence, or uncomfortable silence. In fact, it was the first normal comfortable silence they'd had ever since their fight – their big fight at the beach, not necessarily the numerous ones that took place afterward.

Danny was getting bored, and as all bored people do, he was scanning the area. People were still milling around like they were, waiting for the plane. His eyes then trailed to all the tourism posters on the walls, the gift shops, and the ads.

And then it hit him that they were not only in an airport. They were in _Chicago_.

Danny sat up straighter in his seat and said, "Sam. We're in Chicago."

Sam turned to him with one raised eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure we already established that."

"No, Sam," Danny said, "We're in Chicago, which is one of the cities you wanted to visit before you died."

"You remember that?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Um, yes, of course I do," Danny brushed off her question as if she shouldn't have even asked it. "_So_, since we're already here…"

Sam finally understood what he was implying and said, "Um, have you forgotten that I'm mad at you?"

His arm was still aching, so the answer was no. "Sam, come on, you can't say no to Chicago just because we're a little pissed off at each other."

"_You're_ a little pissed off," Sam scoffed, "I'm _a lot_ pissed off." At the look of disappointment on Danny's face, Sam brusquely added, "_But_, I will decide to give into my girlish dreams if you're willing to apologize."

"I'm sorry."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Apologize and mean it."

"That I cannot do," Danny bit his lip. Even though all he wanted was to get Sam on board with a day in the city, he still didn't want to lie to her and tell her that he was sorry for something he wasn't. And this was something that was actually serious.

"Then how can I go on this Chicago adventure with a person I'm mad at?" Sam turned away from him, making it final. "If you want to have a party for one, go ahead. But I'm getting on that plane."

"Okay, fine, I'll make you a deal," Danny tried once more. "We still need to talk things out as to why I won't apologize, but that will take forever, especially since you and I are the most stubborn people we know." When Sam turned to give him a look, he gave her one right back. "You know that's true. _But_, I still want to spend the day in Chicago, and I want to spend it with my best friend, who wants a day in Chicago as much as I do. So my deal is, we forget about the fight and just be best friends again who aren't fighting for this one day."

The only thing Sam wanted to do was curl on her bed all day, and then call Noel to complain to about everything that'd happened. But at the same time… She really did want to see Chicago. Being holed up in an airport didn't really make the fact that she was actually there pretty comprehendible.

But as she looked at Danny at that moment, she wanted to visit Chicago with her best friend.

Danny noticed the shift in the look in her eyes, and grinned. "So. Truce?"

* * *

The lovebirds pushed open the door to their motel room and entered. This motel was slightly nicer than the last two they'd stayed in – the walls weren't peeling off and there wasn't a necessarily bad smell in the air. It still wasn't a five star place, but it would suffice.

Sam got Danny's laptop out of his bag and set it down on the coffee table. "What are you doing?" Danny asked.

"Booking us bus tickets back to Amity Park tomorrow," Sam offered in short explanation. "It's kind of a waste of money to take a plane again – and I'm not really on best terms with airports, so I don't want to risk another delay or cancellation."

Danny nodded, understanding her point. He watched her tap away silently on the keyboard, waiting patiently for her to finish. Once the tickets were booked, she closed the lid and turned to him.

"Okay, so we only have a day," Sam declared, "so we can't visit every single place in the city. We need to choose three places to go to."

"I'm down for whatever you want," Danny shrugged. "Just please. _No_ museums."

Sam gaped at him. "Not even the Art Institute of Chicago?"

Danny was about to say no, but at the longing look on her face, he sighed, and muttered, "Fine, except that one."

Sam grinned and almost jumped up and clapped her hands, but refrained. "Okay, so that, and we also really have to see Millennium Park."

"And Navy Pier," Danny said. "I saw pictures of it when I was doing some kind of research and it looks pretty awesome."

"Great!" Sam said. "Now that we've got our motel room, let's go."

"Let's make one stop first," Danny said as they walked out of their room and started heading out of the motel and out into the street. "We've been in the same clothes for forever, and one of us is really starting to reek from simmering so much."

Sam turned to him with an incredulous gape, and was about to slap his shoulder when Danny raised a warning finger and said, "No, remember our truce? No inflicting physical pain on Danny."

Sam curled her open palm into a fist and narrowed her eyes at him, but lowered her hand nonetheless. "Fine. Clothes first, Chicago later."

They entered the first random store they found. Danny found a shirt that looked exactly like his favorite t-shirt, the one he'd wore throughout freshman year, white with red stripes by the sleeves. Sam went with a black tank top, not finding anything else that was semi-decent in the shop. Satisfied with their new appearance and lack of smelly-ness, as Danny put, they set out to Chicago.

The first place they went to was the Institute of Art. Sam told him they'd get the 'boring' part over with first and then they'd go to the park and finally to the pier at sunset.

Sam had always wanted to go to the Art Institute of Chicago when she'd first read about the city. She's never seen Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings outside the pages of a library book before, and what better way to learn more about that artistic era than in the museum itself?

While Sam browsed the paintings and the sculptures, read about their histories, their artists, Danny only followed her around with a bored expression on his face. He eyed the paintings, making a comment every once in a while, but otherwise looked very disinterested. Sam found it sweet that he'd agreed to go to this place, even though he obviously found that it was a waste of time.

At one point, he said, "I don't get these paintings. I mean, some I do, but some I really don't. Like, this one. What is the significance of a bowl of fruit?"

Sam rolled her eyes at him, but explained anyway. "Don't look at it as a bowl of fruit. Look at it in terms of the brush strokes and the colors used and every other daring perception. Impressionism was originally a form of independence to artists; they stopped using past art and historical and mythological narrative for their inspiration. They wanted to capture moments in landscapes and other aspects, paying attention to the effect of light and the atmosphere and the movement. That's why they used a palette of pure colors and emphasized the colors on the canvas."

Sam realized she'd rambled, so blushed slightly and laughed a bit nervously. "Sorry. I'm just really into this stuff."

"Yeah, I can tell," Danny was looking at her in awe. He'd seen her very passionate about a lot of things – and by a lot of things he meant _a lot of things_ – but he never saw her passionate about it in a way where her eyes would light up and she'd have a constant smile on her face like she did just then. It was always usually something that put a frown on her face, or something she yelled about, or someone she was protesting against. Seeing her like this, with that gleam in her eye and that rise in her voice – but not from yelling – it was mesmerizing for Danny to watch.

He never thought she looked more beautiful.

Danny blinked and shook the thought away from his head. Clearing his throat subtly, he said, "Okay, so I kind of get the point of the paintings a little better now. Now that I'm not looking at the weird outline and the creepy paint, it actually makes sense. Like, that one over there kind of reminds me of Tucker. And that one reminds me a little bit of Ember. And that one–"

Sam lost track of all the paintings he pointed out, so she nodded along as he walked along the aisle and kept on making irrelevant comments on each painting. Still, she found his cluelessness kind of adorable.

Her heart ached and she realized she really did miss him.

She did snap back to reality when he pointed to one painting and said, "See, that one even reminds me of you."

He hadn't immediately launched onto another painting, so she could see clearly the one he'd pointed at. She gaped in disbelief when she saw that he'd pointed at a Pablo Picasso painting, _Woman with a Helmet of Hair_.

Sam's immediate reaction was to smack his arm. "Ow!" Danny instinctively reached to rub his arm where she'd hit him. "We had a truce! No more hitting Danny!"

Sam ignored him and said, "That looks nothing like me!"

"No, it does," Danny scoffed. "See, look at her frown, and the way she looks like she's silently judging someone with those eyes. That's a perfect ringer to me."

Sam resisted the urge to smack him again, and instead gave in to her chuckle. "I hate you." She shook her head, and then turned back to the painting, an idea hitting her. "But you know what though, I'm actually going to take a picture of this to show to Noel later; he's really into this stuff too–"

"No, no, nu-uh," she turned to find Danny shaking his head at her disapprovingly. "You just broke the rules again just now."

"What?" When Danny resumed shaking his head, she scoffed. "What? What did I do?"

"You mentioned he who shall not be named and that goes against the very essence of our truce," Danny dramatically raised his chin defiantly.

"What? You mean Noel?" Sam gave him a look. "He's my boyfriend, Danny, I can't _not_ mention him."

Danny even more dramatically gasped. "You just used the forbidden word."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "What word? _Boyfriend_?"

"You said it again!" Danny gasped once more. "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _you_?" Even though Sam was seriously questioning his sanity, she couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"Wow," Danny said. "Now you're just spitting in the face of my ground rules. I'm out. I'm out, Sammy, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Sam let out an incredulous laugh when he turned away and started heading for the exit. When she realized he was serious in his own weird way, she yelled after him, "Alright, fine, _fine_." When he turned back to look at her, she'd put her phone back in her pocket and showed him her empty hands. "Happy now?"

Danny walked back to her, and in a lower voice he said, "Okay, first we get out of here, get ice cream, and then I'm out."

Sam shook her head at him as he started leading the way out of the museum. "You're nuts."

"Thanks."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Millennium Park was basically right next to the Art Institute of Chicago, so Sam and Danny walked there, a cup of ice cream in their hands. They walked together through the prairie gardens, bustling with bees and birds, enjoying the greenery and the random bits of artwork. They took pictures together on the serpentine bridge and the clear sky above them.

They'd scaled almost the entire park before they inevitably ended up by the Bean. Sam had had a camera with her and was taking pictures of the park, so once they arrived at the Gold Gate, she snapped a few pictures of her reflection.

"The city is so artistic," Sam breathed in awe as she stared at the structure in front of her, "everything has an artistic touch to it, everything in this park, down to the architecture." She shook her head in wonder as she turned to Danny, resting her back on the Bean. "Can you imagine living here some day?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't really imagine life outside of Amity Park and ghost hunting if it's not to be an astronaut." He didn't want to also say that he didn't want to imagine _her_ living here, if that meant she'd leave him behind some day. But he didn't say that out loud.

Sam, though, noticed the unsaid words in his expression, and prodded. "What?"

Danny shook his head and smiled at her reassuringly. "Nothing. Never mind."

Sam knew her best friend, and she knew it wasn't nothing, but she let it slide. She turned to stare at her reflection in the Bean, trying to ignore the fact that her hair was a mess thanks to constantly being tossed around by the wind, but she didn't really mind that much.

"Give me your camera," she turned to find Danny holding his hand out of her, and she dug back into her bag and retrieved her camera and gave it to the halfa.

He walked a few paces back and then aimed the lens at her. "Okay, superstar. Show me what you got."

Sam didn't mean to laugh at him, especially when he started taking pictures, and she said, "Danny, I look like shit; stop!"

Danny scoffed. "If you look like shit, then I look like…" He paused, staring up from the lens to think of an appropriate word. "… something worse than shit."

"How creative," Sam rolled her eyes. She walked over to him and took the camera from him. She wanted to tell him that he looked like something that was far from shit, but she bit her tongue. The truth was, she wanted to say more than that – she wanted to tell him he looked cheeky with the way he looked at her; absolutely adorable when he smiled at her; and completely sexy when he just stood there and the wind blew across his features, sweeping his hair onto his forehead.

But she didn't say those things. She didn't even know _why_ she was thinking those things – Sam hadn't had a romantic thought about her best friend in _months_, ever since she first knew Noel and well before that. She thought that maybe it was just because it'd been a while since she'd spent a long time with Danny alone, and maybe she was just re-noticing the things she'd already known.

Yeah. That was it.

She tried to stop thinking about how handsome he looked standing there at the moment as she brought the lens to her eyes. "Alright, Fenton. Let's see what you got."

At first, Danny did his best to not show her what he got, putting his hand up in front of him to hide his face and then turn around so that Sam could only get a view of his back. After persistence from the Goth girl though – which was in the form of threats, naturally – he finally smiled shyly at the camera and Sam took the picture.

Content, Sam was about to walk over to him when he took the camera from her hands. "Smile, Sammy."

Sam was too busy trying to hit Danny, so when he snapped a picture of both of them, Sam looked retarded. He laughed at her expression in the picture, which earned him another kick from her.

She took the camera from him with a "Give me that, smartass." Even though her shot was a lot better than his, she still couldn't get a good angle.

"Oh," Sam lowered the camera from their faces to find another failed shot and stared at the old woman who was passing in front of them. "Dears, would you like me to take a picture of you?"

Danny was faster to react than Sam, and he took the camera from her and gave the old lady a smile as he handed her the camera, saying, "Yeah, sure, we'd appreciate that."

Danny and Sam stood next to each other a little awkwardly, smiling. The woman snapped a picture, but she scoffed at it, "Boy, put your arm around her shoulder. Don't just leave her standing alone like that."

Even though Sam found it a bit awkward and laughed nervously, Danny put his arm around her and swept her closer. The woman, obviously much happier now, said, "Now, say cheese!"

"Cheeeeeese," Sam and Danny repeated after her, smiling, and both wanted to laugh at the ridiculous situation. The woman took the picture and then handed them the camera.

"Thank you, ma'am," Danny said.

"Thank _you_," the woman grinned at them. "Young love at its finest. How long have you two been together?"

Sam and Danny avoided each other's eyes as they blushed. "Um, no, no," Sam laughed nervously once more. "We're just friends."

"Oh," the woman blinked, and she seemed almost disappointed. "I'm sorry. You just… never mind. Have a good day!"

"You too!" Danny said nervously after she started walking away. When it was only both of them again, they stood there nervously, neither one looking the other in the eye.

"So," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "That was interesting."

Sam shook the situation out of her system and turned to Danny. "Come on," she grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him with her. "It's almost sunset and I want to be at the pier for that."

They'd headed under the Bean to head there, but when Sam saw her reflection above them, she paused, still holding Danny's hand.

Danny noticed her stop and space out at their reflections above them, so he searched her eyes in the mirror above and asked, "What?"

Sam was shaking her head in wonder. "No wonder people always think we're a couple." She turned to look at him, shrugging slightly. "We look good together."

Sam smiled slightly and kept walking, letting go of his hand. What she didn't know was that she left Danny speechless, gaping after her, not believing she said that and not believing the twist his heart was in because she'd said that.

As Danny caught up to her, he didn't notice the stricken look on Sam's face. She couldn't believe she'd actually said that – she hadn't meant to, but she just did. And now that the words were out there, she couldn't take them back.

But that was the thing. She didn't really want to take them back.

* * *

They arrived at the pier just in time for sundown. They stood on the dock, leaning on a railing as they looked at the colors in the sky. The sun had hit the water, illuminating Lake Michigan with colors of orange, hues of blue, purples, and greens. The sky was awash with colors of indigo and orange and yellow, and they could see the colors fading over one another until they made the blue above the sun.

Sam had taken a picture, but despite the camera's very high definition, not all the colors were captured, and the sun on the screen was much smaller than it was in real life.

"Some things you can't capture on camera," Sam sighed as the sun finally set under the water.

They stood in silence for a few moments, under the twilight, and for the first time since their fight, it was a comfortable silence, not one laced with tension or anger like it'd always been.

"So," Danny broke the silence to stare down at Sam. "What do you want to ride first?"

Sam grinned up at him. "Do you even have to ask?"

So that was how, fifteen minutes later, they were out of the line and onto one of the booths in the Ferris Wheel, climbing higher and higher over the city.

As the bright colors of twilight swept Chicago, the city lights illuminated the water, not to mention all the lights in the pier itself. All around them they saw the oranges and reds and yellows of the Navy Pier, illuminating the night as they gazed down onto the beautiful city of Chicago.

Danny and Sam had been talking about something random, they didn't even remember what it had been now, when the Ferris Wheel suddenly came to a halt. Naturally, they were at the very top when that happened.

Sam frowned and looked down, trying to see what the problem was. They were too high, though, and all the people only looked like tiny black specs against the lights. "What's going on?"

"Don't know," Danny shrugged, looking down to see what's going on as well, but he too didn't see anything.

Sam rolled her eyes. "This is probably the most cliché thing _ever_. I mean, really."

Danny chuckled as he remembered something. "The only thing missing is that there's no random yet completely convenient heart light up with our initials in it."

Sam frowned at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" And then she remembered that time when Technus was trying to play matchmaker and get Valerie and Danny together, and she broke out into a grin. "Where's Technus when you need him."

They stayed sitting in a calm matter above the pier, staring at the sky. None of them were afraid of heights – of course, since one was a half-ghost who could fly and the other was a sidekick to said half-ghost – so weren't bothered by the height. Plus, Sam knew if push came to shove, and if something would've happened, Danny would just protect her.

"You know," Sam said, "this would probably be the perfect date. A lot better than the one you and Valerie had been on since this is Chicago."

Danny snorted. "I thought you spat in the face of romance."

"And clichés," Sam rolled her eyes. "This would probably be the first cliché in the book of clichés of dates. But I don't know. It's not so bad."

"Good enough to want to come back here again but with Cole this time?" Danny tried to say the sentence with the least malice as possible, but he knew it came out as a bit of a sneer, and he couldn't help it.

Sam noticed, and snapped, "Don't."

He didn't. They continued sitting in silence for a few more minutes, until Danny said, "You know, this would actually make an awesome place to think, even more so when the pier is closed and the city's all dark."

Sam hadn't really thought about that, but as the image crossed her mind, she was met with a beautiful scene of Lake Michigan, the skyscrapers and artistically-structured buildings looming in darkness in the distance, and complete silence. She still didn't think that any thinking place beat flying.

She told him that, and he shrugged. "Well, yeah. I do my best thinking when I'm flying, but obviously I can't fly all the time I need to think. When I just need to sit down and think about something, I go to that hill on top of the park. You know, the one where that huge tree is?" Sam vaguely remembered the one he was talking about, so nodded, urging him to continue. "It's very calming, especially at night, or when the sun is about to come up. I like to go there when the park's empty."

As Danny talked, Sam focused more on his features than the actual words he was saying. It was twilight, and the colors danced across his face, bringing out the finery in his features and blue in his eyes. She hadn't even noticed when he'd stopped talking and turned to stare at her staring at him.

He uncharacteristically smirked. "Are you checking me out, Manson?"

Sam recovered quickly, meeting him with a smirk of her own. "More like checking for zits."

Danny laughed, and Sam sighed inwardly in relief. All of a sudden she felt very weird. Well, she'd been feeling weird for quite some time now, but as she spent more time with Danny, the weird feeling intensified. She didn't know exactly what she was feeling – or whether it was normal or not. She didn't think it had anything to do with a few feelings for the ghost boy resurfacing, because she never felt this way when she was around Noel, and Noel was her boyfriend, so she didn't know what to think.

She didn't have to, however, because seconds later the Ferris Wheel started moving again, taking them back down to ground level where they departed.

As they walked away and roamed the crowded pier, Danny asked, "Anything else on your agenda?"

Sam was far from done with the city, but as she was about to answer, her stomach made a weird sound. She blushed and hoped Danny hadn't heard it.

He had. "Finally! I was wondering when I'd hear that noise."

Sam gave him a look. "I'm just a bit hungry, that's all."

"I don't care," Danny chuckled. "I'm _a lot _hungry."

Sam glared at him, feeling guilty. "Why didn't you say so? We could've gotten any lunch somewhere."

Danny shrugged. "I didn't want to interrupt your Chicago experience by pestering you about food. But now I can since you're hungry too."

Sam rolled her eyes, but felt even guiltier at his words – more touched as well. "Fine. I think I saw a food stand somewhere around here–"

"Sam. I'm hungry." Danny told her with a blank face. "And hunger like this needs decent food you order, sit down somewhere on a table, and eat." He saw her about to retort, so he just grabbed her hand and started pulling her along with him. "Come on. I saw a place that looked good not far from here. My treat, Sammy."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Even though Sam felt they were depriving themselves of precious time they could've been otherwise using to see more of the city, she caved to Danny and followed him inside a café, not far from their motel.

Danny led them to a small booth by the window, where they could see people on the street and the cars passing by. A waitress came by and handed them the menus, and Sam had to admit, everything that didn't include meat looked appetizing.

"I don't know what to choose," she finally said out loud to Danny, who had decided a few minutes ago and was waiting for her to call the waitress back. "The explosion salad without the chicken or the grilled cheese sandwich with the fries."

"Get both," Danny waved it off.

"Danny…" even though Sam had put up a fight in splitting the check, Danny wouldn't have it, saying he'd pay. It wasn't that Sam was just acting out because she felt it sexist – even though that was what she was telling him – but also because she didn't want Danny to pay. So far they'd been splitting the money over motel rooms and plane and bus tickets, but while she could easily afford it, Danny didn't have as much luxury as she did, and she knew he was consuming more money than he'd anticipated.

But he insisted on paying, and there was nothing Sam could do to change his mind. She thought back to when he said that he was as stubborn as she was and knew that no protesting would change his mind.

However, that didn't mean she had to exploit the fact that she wasn't paying.

"I'll just get the salad," she finally decided, her stomach a bit uneasy after their earlier ice cream anyway.

Danny called the waitress and placed their orders. "Anything else I could get you?" the waitress was a sweet blonde, and Sam couldn't help but notice the lingering stare she directed at Danny. "Would you like something to drink with that?"

Danny turned to Sam, but before she could tell him what she wanted, he turned to the waitress and said, "A Diet Coke and a regular one, please."

"Alright, handsome," the waitress smiled flirtatiously at him as she took their menus. "Coming right up."

Sam gaped at her as she sauntered away, making sure her hips swung in the process. Sam wanted to shoot her. Couldn't she see that Danny was obviously on a date?

… Where the hell did _that_ come from? Sam blinked at herself as the waitress disappeared into the kitchen. They weren't on a date and Sam knew that very well – but then, what was that about?

She was even more flabbergasted when Danny hadn't said a word and resumed people watching out the window. She couldn't help but say, "Are you seriously that clueless?"

Danny turned to her with a surprise. "What?"

Sam thought that he was just acting innocent for her sake, but the genuine look in his eyes told her he really had no idea what was going on. Sam couldn't help laughing at his cluelessness and shook her head at him. "Wow. I guess you really _are_ that clueless."

"Why am I clueless?" Danny asked again, blinking.

"That waitress was totally flirting with you," even though she tried to, she couldn't help the accusatory tone in her phrase.

Danny blinked again. "She was?"

Sam laughed again. "She called you_ handsome_, for God's sakes."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, as he'd always done whenever he was nervous. "Huh. I guess I didn't notice."

Sam wanted to keep talking about the subject more, even though she didn't really understand why, but pushed it aside, instead changing the subject. "How'd you know I wanted a Diet Coke?"

"Because I know you," Danny said, an unsaid 'duh' hanging in the air. "Anyway. When do we have to be up tomorrow?"

Sam had no time to think about the sweetness of the situation as she replied, "I didn't book the bus too early, but the latest I could find was at 3, so even _you_ can't wake up late and make us miss it."

"Damn. There goes my plan of another day in Chicago." Even though he was being sarcastic, he was grinning at her.

Sam rolled her eyes. "As much as I would love that too, we need to be back home soon. Plus, did you forget that you're kind of the town hero protector person?"

Danny ignored her choice of words and said, "Not a day goes by where I don't worry. More because the town's fate is in the hands of my parents, and half of my parents is dad. I wouldn't be surprised if we went home and the town was on fire."

Sam chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was completely submerged underwater. Your dad would at least win points for creativity."

They laughed, and seconds later the flirty waitress came back with their food. She tried getting Danny's attention again, but he was so focused on the Goth girl in front of him that she stopped trying and just stuck to doing her job.

Sam had been reluctant at first to let Danny order a burger, and she was even more disturbed when he took huge bites and moaned in pleasure. "Oh, man. Was I hungry."

Sam frowned in disapproval. "Neanderthal."

Danny eyed her salad and retaliated, his mouth still full with food, "Food virgin."

While Sam wiped the bits of food that had gotten onto her face thanks to the halfa, making a disgusted face, she said, "That's not even a thing."

"Tucker would beg to differ," this time Danny was careful while he was talking and sent no bits of food flying in her direction. "He'd probably say that you were the biggest food virgin of all food virgins on the planet. Or something like that."

Sam laughed more at the way he looked as he said it than at the words he'd said. "Dear God. My best friend is an idiot. And I'm not talking about Tucker."

* * *

They were so tired from all the travelling and walking around and having fun, they decided to call it a night. They headed back to their motel room and entered the dark room.

"I am exhausted," Sam yawned, stretching her limbs. "I really hope this bed is better than the last one."

Danny wanted to comment that the last bed was fine – it was the fact that they were dripping wet that was the problem. The thought of the previous night only reminded Danny of the clothing state Sam had been in, which made Danny blush.

"I'm gonna hit that clothes store again," Danny declared. "I wanna get us something more comfortable to sleep in."

Sam nodded. "Good idea. I can't stand these jeans anymore. Unless you want me to sleep half-naked again."

Danny thought it was that he was now on a full stomach and wanted to sleep. He thought it may have been due to the fact that he hadn't snapped for an entire day and a load of thoughts had been tucked away under a truce. It didn't matter. All he knew was that he said, without really realizing he was, "I don't think Cole would approve of that. What does he think right now anyway, you shacking up with a guy?"

Sam's expression darkened. It wasn't so much his words as it was the way he said them. "Danny. Don't. We had a truce."

"I know," Danny shook his head, but he couldn't stop himself. "I'm just saying. Don't you think he'd be a little more upset if he really cared about you?"

Sam slammed her bag down on the coffee table angrily. "No, Danny, because being the overprotective asshole is your job." When Danny said nothing, she continued. "Why? Why did you have to go and ruin the day with this?"

"I can't help the way I feel," he muttered, regretting the words as soon as they were out. Fortunately, Sam was bristling with too much anger that she hadn't heard him.

"What did you say?" Sam asked. "I didn't hear you over the sound of your jackassery."

Danny shook his head, his expression dark, and started heading outside. "Never mind."

Sam didn't let him off the hook – she didn't want to this time. Even if he told her to forget about it, pretend he hadn't said anything, she still remembered. She couldn't remember all the amazing things they'd done today because all she could think about now was the words he'd just said, and that made her think of their fight and their constant bickers.

"_Why_?" she finally burst. "Danny, forget about today and about the truce and about the bickers and about everything else and just focus on the main reason. And I just want to know _why_."

Danny turned from the door to stare at her, but his expression was a perfect poker face. She didn't know whether he didn't know what she was talking about or was trying to hide whatever he was thinking, and she didn't really care.

As though his stare hadn't phased her, she continued. "Why do you hate Noel? Why do you feel the need to protect me from him? Why did you spy on me – on us? Why don't you trust me – or him? _Why Danny why do you do all of these things and why do you–_"

She had a million other _why's_ to add to the list. She thought that she could go on forever, finally taking out all her frustration in a form where she wasn't just angry or hitting him or calling him an ass. She still didn't understand why the fight took place.

She did now.

Because, as she kept on rambling more and asking _why why why_, she was cut off…

… Because Danny's lips were suddenly on hers.

Sam froze. She hadn't even noticed him take the long, angry strides towards her. She hadn't felt as his hands snaked up to her cheeks and hold her face as he slammed his lips down to hers.

But he had done all of that, and now he was kissing her.

She was too frozen; she didn't know what to do.

Danny, however, knew that. He knew that she would freeze. That was why, after fifteen painful seconds of his lips on hers, he let her go slowly, wanting to keep the feeling of her mouth on his for as long as possible. But he then opened his eyes, and looked down at her face, filled with shock and breathlessness, and her eyes, shining bright amethyst even in the dark room.

He looked down at that expression for a while, trying to find anything other than shock in her eyes. He didn't.

"That's why," he whispered softly.

He didn't want to let go of her, but he didn't want to be with her at that time either. He wanted to look at her eyes forever and yet wanted to look at anything else. So he removed his hands from around her neck and walked just as fast away from her and towards the door, and just like that he was out.

His absence brought her back to reality, and she felt her knees shaking beneath her. She backed up on her wobbly legs until she bumped into the coffee table and steadied herself on it, still breathing heavily. She touched her lips with her fingers, finding that it was still tingling.

She'd kissed many guys before. She'd kissed Gregor – or Elliot, whatever – she'd kissed her first real boyfriend after that disaster, Jake. She'd shared one hasty kiss with Marshall, the guy who was weaseling his way to her parents. She'd obviously kissed Jasper – well, he'd kissed her, because he'd apparently thought one date meant sex afterwards.

She'd kissed Noel, her current boyfriend, whom she liked very much. And it wasn't that none of those guys were good kissers – they were. But now… she felt like their kisses were more mouth on mouth, nothing else.

She'd kissed many guys in her teenage life.

But she had never become so undone or unraveled or confused or shocked or had her stomach in knots like Danny's kiss had left her right now.

* * *

It had taken some time for Danny to come back. Even though he'd said he was just around the corner buying them pajamas, Sam knew he'd taken a long detour. Probably to think. Probably at the top of the Ferris wheel.

At the moment, she wished she had ghost powers. She wished she could fly above the city and think, sit on top of that Ferris wheel and go over what had just happened.

Danny had kissed her.

Now it all made sense. Why he constantly disliked every guy who seemed interested in her. Why he felt the need to ruin those relationships. He wasn't just being overprotective. He was _jealous_. Insanely jealous, at that.

Sam didn't know how she felt. At one point… Danny was her best friend. And she already had a boyfriend whom she deeply cared for. At the other point, that kiss…

All she knew was that she'd never felt anything so intense with Noel before. She never felt the rush of happiness she had that morning when she and Danny were taking pictures by the Bean. She'd never felt so close to Noel as she had when she and Danny were at the top of that Ferris wheel. She hadn't felt such intense anger and frustration with Noel, ever – they never fought, never raised their voice on one another, because no one gave the other reason to. With Danny, however, half the time she felt like strangling him, and the other half, when she wasn't yelling at him or hitting him, she felt like laughing.

She didn't know. She didn't know what to think. All she knew was that kiss had made her feel something she had never felt with Noel before.

And she wanted to feel that feeling again.

It wasn't just for the sake of feeling it again. She didn't yet know exactly what that feeling was. She didn't know whether it was just spurred from shock, or whether it was real. She didn't know whether she felt like that because it was Danny or because it wasn't Noel.

Her trail of thought was only confusing her more.

So she was still confused, especially when the door handle turned and opened and Danny tentatively walked in.

He was surprised to see that she was still awake. He'd left for a considerable amount of time, and hoped that she'd be too tired to wait for him and go to sleep.

He didn't know that Sam couldn't even sleep if she'd tried. Her mind was churning, turning over everything that had happened, over and over again. And now that he was back, she didn't know whether she was happy he was or dreadful.

Danny was still frozen by the door, waiting for her to speak first. As they stared into each other's eyes, Sam sighed, quietly, and said, "You can't kiss me again." _Yes you can_.

Danny's shoulders sagged, whether it was from disappointment or relief at her reaction, she didn't know. He closed the door softly behind him and said, "I know."

Sam shook her head. "No, Danny." Too restless sitting there on the edge of the bed, she stood up to face him. "_You can't kiss me again_. I have a boyfriend."

Danny nodded. "I know."

"You know?" Sam stared at him, incredulous. "What kind of answer is that?"

Danny shrugged. "The only one I've got."

They stood there in silence, no one doing anything or saying anything. Then, finally, Danny sighed. "I wanted to apologize."

Sam folded her arms across her chest and looked smugger than the situation warranted. "Good."

"Hold on, I said I _wanted_ to," Danny said. "I wanted to apologize for spying on you, and I wanted to apologize for kissing you, but then I realized… I had nothing to apologize for. I don't regret doing any of these things because I can't help the way I feel, Sam. And I want to apologize, I _do_. But I've been apologizing for my whole life, making up excuses, but I can't anymore. Obviously, I know you don't feel the same way, which is why I was so angry with you all the time. And that's the only thing I'm sorry for. I really hope I didn't possibly ruin our entire friendship by doing this, because I'd rather be angry with you for my entire life before I have to lose you. As long as you're in my life, I don't care. So I just really hope that–"

He was rambling so much that he hadn't even noticed that Sam had walked closer to him. He barely caught her saying, "Shut up," before his face was in her hands and her lips were on his.

Danny's reaction wasn't as hers had been. He reacted immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her even closer to him. He invaded her mouth and tasted her, tasted the bland of a salad and the hint of a Coke on her tongue. He smelled the perfume she'd put on earlier that day as he removed his lips from her and trailed kisses down her neck. He tasted the lavender that stuck to her skin, and with one hand, he felt every bump of her spine on her back up to down, as his other circulated from her waist to her hips to her thigh.

Sam was becoming undone in his arms. She felt herself giving away to him, to his touch, to his tongue on her skin, to his hair ticking her cheek as his head dipped lower. Her hands coursed over his torso, but his t-shirt kept getting in the way.

Acting out of instinct she didn't even know she had, she pushed Danny up against the door and attacked his lips with hers. She didn't give him time to react as she pulled his t-shirt over his head and started trailing kisses of her own down his chest. She wished he was lying down in front of her so that she could kiss every inch of him.

Danny brought her face back to his and kissed her again. He pushed her forward and then backed her up against the wall, just as she'd done earlier, and then grabbed at her shirt. He didn't even try to fumble to get the t-shirt off of her and just ripped it completely off, the fabric breaking like cotton in his hands and falling to the ground, leaving Sam in the black lace bra he'd admired from afar.

He kissed her again and felt his lips catch fire, felt his arms and torso catch fire from where she touched him. Sam's knees were so weak from shaking she had to use one of her arms to hold onto the doorframe to keep her from falling.

Danny felt her need to sit down and his hands trailed down and cupped her ass until he carried her, forcing her to wrap her legs around him and grab onto his neck for support.

As much as he loved having her up against a wall, he carried her away, his lips still on hers, and then dropped her on one of the beds gently. She crawled back, her eyes trailing from his to his lips, Danny crawling on top of her. Once Sam's head was on the pillow, she grabbed Danny's neck and kissed him again.

But Danny didn't just want this. He wanted it to be real too. He grabbed at Sam's hands from around his neck and slammed them both down on the bed beside her, so that he had her trapped.

He stared at her, searching her eyes. He saw the same thing mirror in hers as well as his – longing. Desire. Hope.

Love.

Sam couldn't stand the fact that even though every part of him was touching her, he was still so far. She left her hands clasped in his and leaned up and kissed him again.

And then Sam knew. What she was experiencing wasn't just from shock or from anything. It didn't feel different to be physically like this with Danny than it did with Noel just because Noel was her boyfriend and Danny was her best friend. She didn't care. She didn't want to think. All she could focus on was Danny's lips, and his hands – his glorious hands, roaming all over her body, removing more items of clothing, tangling her hair – and at the moment, and she couldn't think of anything else even if she tried.

And she knew. It was damn real.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** WHAATTT? 100 REVIEWS MAN! CONFETTI, IT'S A PARAADDEEE WOOOOO

Your reviews on the last chapter left me in tears because I was laughing so hard at your joy - wait, the came out wrong. What? I lost my trail of thought.

My point is: THANK YOU, YOU AWESOME READERS. CONFETTI FOR YOU TOO.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own DP - but that's okay at the moment because 100 REVIEWS BITCHES.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

That morning, Sam was already awake when her phone started vibrating.

It wasn't a constant vibration, so she knew it wasn't a phone call as she grabbed her phone from the commode beside her. She'd set an early reminder for the bus ride, so that they would get up early enough to get some decent breakfast before their trip back.

She sighed and put her phone back on the commode as silently as she could. She then looked behind her to check whether the sound had woken Danny up. As usual, because he was such a heavy sleeper, it didn't. He had his back to her, though, so she couldn't see for sure.

Her eyes on Danny trailed down to his nakedness and the duvet covering the fact that he was. She then sighed again and sat up, realizing that sitting in bed all day, staring at the blank wall wouldn't solve anything. She tried locating bits of her clothes on the floor in front of her, but all she found was Danny's shirt, the white one he'd been wearing the previous day. Not in the mood to look around naked, she slipped the t-shirt on and stood up, neglecting the fact that it only ended a bit below her butt.

She walked numbly to the bathroom. She avoided looking at herself in the mirror, afraid of what she'd see there, and washed her face, wiping away the last traces of sleep.

She couldn't avoid her reflection for long, and looked up. Her hair was tousled; her cheeks were still red, her mouth was sore.

Her reflection was like a reality slap in the face.

She slept with Danny.

Her best friend.

She had a boyfriend. Who wasn't Danny.

She cheated on her boyfriend.

By having sex with Danny.

She had sex.

She lost her virginity.

_To Danny_.

The events of last night kept on playing over and over in her mind, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. Nothing she could do to stop the shower of guilt that washed over her at the fact that she'd cheated on Noel. Felt even guiltier that she wanted to keep cheating on Noel. With Danny.

_Oh my God_, Sam stared at her reflection, a girl who looked confused and terrified. _I had sex with Danny_.

And what was worse was that she wanted to do it again.

She left the bathroom and walked back into the room. Now that she could see Danny's face, she saw that he was still asleep. Even though they'd gone to sleep spooning, she'd woken up with him facing the other direction.

Sam resisted the urge to sigh again as she started pacing around the tiny space, waiting for Danny to wake up. But the thing was, she didn't know why she was waiting for him to wake up, because she didn't know what she was going to say. Everything that had happened last night had just happened. They hadn't planned it, obviously; hadn't planned to go as far as they did. They almost didn't, because running to the drugstore hadn't been part of Danny's errand – but then they'd remembered the lone condom Tucker had stuffed into Danny's backpack.

Sam could still feel Danny on her – she could still smell him on her, feel his touch on her. She was so confused, because at one point, she wanted that touch to stay on her skin forever; and at another point, she felt dirty. She knew that if she could go back in time, she still would've done the exact same thing all over again.

The only problem was Noel.

But she didn't know what to do or feel about that. Noel was her boyfriend for a reason. Despite all the good things he lacked that Danny had, he was still a very decent guy. More than decent – he was exceptional, and she knew that if she had any girl friends, they would've been head over heels jealous she had a guy like Noel.

And then there was Danny.

Danny, who consumes her. Danny, who makes her feel _everything_ to an extreme: happiness, sadness, anger, the urge to kill (mostly him), disappointment. But the only thing she had with Noel that she didn't have with Danny was that they never fought. She and Noel were always on good terms because no one ever gave the other reason to be mad. But with Danny, they were always screaming and fighting.

She was cut off from her trail of thought when she heard Danny stirring. She had her arms folded across her chest when Danny sat up, still half asleep. He looked beside him to find the space next to him unoccupied, and almost panicked, but then he looked up to find her pacing in front of the bed.

He smiled lazily at her, not noticing her torn expression. "Hey."

"Hey."

Danny rubbed the sleep from his eyes and took a better look at her. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face when he saw her pacing wearing only his t-shirt – he didn't think that anything she'd ever wore before made her seem all the more beautiful to him like his shirt did.

"Now that's a sight I'd like to wake up to every single day," he breathed out as he took her in. "Sam Manson pacing around the room in my clothes."

Sam's gut clenched at his words, wanting to kiss him again and punch him. Why, oh why, did he have to be so sweet?

Danny noticed her grimace, and was immediately knocked awake. He sat up straighter and moved closer to the edge of the bed to reach out to her. "What's wrong?"

Sam shook her head. Where would she begin? She cheated on her boyfriend, and she also had sex with Danny, which were two interconnected things that screamed just as loudly in her head. "I don't know," she finally said aloud. "I can't help but keep thinking that maybe last night was a mistake."

Danny should've been upset by her words. But he knew Sam – and he knew that she felt guilty because of Noel, that acting on nothing but pure feelings would come to her as a mistake. Danny reached out and took her hand in his. "Maybe we should keep making more mistakes."

Sam laughed more at the look on Danny's face than at his words, and Danny was happy to hear that laugh, like angels in his ears. Sam's laughter, however, soon dried up, as she sat down next to him. "Danny. Am I a horrible person?"

Danny was shaking his head before she finished her question. "Don't even, Sam. You're not. You know you're not." He stared into her face, at her guilty expression, and brought his hand up to remove a strand of hair from her face and behind her ear. He kept his hand there, grazing her cheek softly. "You're the most… _not_ horrible person I know."

Sam reached up and took his hand in hers, putting it down on her lap. She sighed and then got up unexpectedly. "I'll be in the shower."

Danny frowned at her. "Don't you want to talk about last night?"

Danny knew that Sam liked to talk – talk, talk, talk. But for once in her life, she wanted to do anything but talk. "No." she told him, closing the bathroom door behind her.

Sam hastily took off Danny's t-shirt and stepped into the shower, turning the faucet on. The warm water ran down her shoulders, and she welcomed their warmth.

For a moment, she could feel the water running on her body take Danny's touch with it. She could feel it running down the drain as her body was cleaned from it.

But at the same time, she knew that she'd never remove that from her body. And she didn't know whether she wanted it to or not.

After soaking herself clean, she got out and wrapped a towel around her. All too late she realized that she hadn't brought any clothes with her, and didn't feel like wearing Danny's t-shirt as her outfit of the day either. So she tentatively opened the bathroom door to the room, trying not to blush.

She was surprised when she found Danny still sitting on the edge of the bed, the duvet wrapping around him. And next to him he'd collected Sam's clothes and laid them out on the mattress. When he saw her come out, he gestured with his head to the clothes, giving her a small smile.

Sam sat down next to him and let the towel fall on the bed as she started pulling her clothes on. She thought she'd be shy, but was surprised to find that she wasn't altered by Danny still sitting next to her, staring at her as she tugged her bra on and then put on her t-shirt.

She couldn't help but quip as she stood up to pull her pants up, "Enjoying the show?"

Danny grinned. "Yes."

Sam shook her head slightly at him, and as she struggled to get her boot on, she said, "I'm getting breakfast."

She'd taken two steps before Danny was blocking her way to the door. Sam had then realized he was still naked, and couldn't help but blush as she tried to keep her eyes on his face and prevent them from trailing down. "No. We'll get breakfast together, just wait while I take a shower."

"Danny, I really think you should put some clothes on," Sam couldn't help but remark as the urge to look down got more and more intense the longer Danny stood there.

"I will if you promise to wait," Danny said. But Sam didn't want to wait – she used the breakfast as an excuse to get out and clear her head, preferably where Danny wouldn't be right up in her face and in other areas of her body as well like he was now.

"No," Sam said. "Just give me a minute; I'll take a quick walk and come back and then we'll get breakfast."

Even though Danny still didn't want her to go, he didn't protest as she tried to open the door. However, he didn't move, and for her to open the door, she had to squeeze into him to reach for the handle. Sam couldn't help but look down now as she reached for it, trying not to blush. Once she got the door open, Danny was still blocking the way.

Sam gave him a look, but Danny's expression was still blank as she watched her trying to get out. She squeezed past him, again her eyes trailing down as her body grazed his, and then she was out the door.

She barely heard him yell back after her, "Your loss!" She couldn't help the smile that crept up to her face, and that only made her feel worse.

* * *

Tucker called five minutes into her walk.

She'd almost forgotten about him and Jazz, and was more than happy to welcome the distraction. He rambled on about how Jazz was driving him crazy, about how he should've shipped her off with us on the plane – right, _that_ would've gone over well – and told her that they were already home.

Sam raised both eyebrows at that. "You're back in Amity Park?"

"Yeah," he said. "We'd had it up to here with each other and made the trip back without any stops. I gotta tell you, it's good to be home. So anyway, enough about me. How's it going with you and Danny boy? Why aren't you back yet?"

Sam launched into an explanation, giving him a brief run-over of all the cancelled and delayed flights, the bus rides, the motel rooms, keeping things brisk, until she reached Chicago.

She could feel Tucker raising his eyebrows. "Chicago? That must've been fun."

"Yeah," Sam cleared her throat nervously. She wanted to remember what they'd done at the city – the Art Institute, the Bean, the Ferris wheel, any of that – but all she could remember was last night, Danny's hands on her, Danny's lips on hers.

But she wasn't going to tell Tucker any of _that_.

"Anyway," Sam tried to shake the image of Danny from her head. "We have a bus ride in a couple of hours and we'll be home soon."

"Perfect!" Tucker said. "Once you're back, I'm calling an emergency Team Phantom meeting. We need to come up with a plan to get rid of Jazz."

Sam chuckled at him. "Sure, Foley. We'll do that when we're back."

"Oh, by the way, before I forget," Tucker said. "Noel was asking about you when we got back."

Sam grimaced. She hadn't been in touch with Noel throughout her and Danny's impromptu road trip. She'd told him at the beginning of their trip that she wouldn't keep tabs on her phone because she'd be too busy, and Noel had told her that he'd only call her to check up on her when she didn't call him. But throughout the last couple of days, she knew he'd assumed that she was too busy having fun to call him and had given her some space for that.

Thinking like that only made Sam feel even worse because Noel was such a good boyfriend to do something like that, and Sam was off sleeping with some other guy, taking advantage of that.

"Did he say anything else?" Sam tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible, hoping Tucker didn't notice anything odd in her tone.

"Nope, he just wishes you have a safe trip back," Tucker said. "That guy's such a pussy, Sam. I honestly don't know what you see in him."

Sam rolled her eyes, even though she knew that Tucker couldn't see her. "Thanks, Tuck. See you later."

* * *

When she was back at the motel, Danny was already showered, dressed, and had packed up everything for them.

"So," as they checked out of the motel and were heading towards a diner to get breakfast, Danny tried to start any conversation here and there, but Sam always gave him a one-syllable answer or a tight nod. "You planning on telling me what's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

Sam didn't say anything, too lost in her own thoughts to reply.

Danny shook his head. "I liked it better when you were hitting me."

* * *

**A/N: **Oh, there you are. Just wanted to say thanks again because I love you x3


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Okay, so I just wanted to say that I'm sorry the updates aren't as frequent as they used to be - with school starting and life commencing as the year starts, it's really hard to get to writing as fast as I used to. So please bear with me with these late updates. I love you! Enjooyy x

**Disclaimer:** I don't own DP.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

At breakfast, Sam's silence turned into glares.

Usually, Danny didn't mind when Sam had weird mood swings – but this one was bizarre. "One minute you're kissing me, the other you're giving me the silent treatment, and now you're mad at me? What's wrong with you, woman?"

Sam shoved a pancake in her mouth and glared at him. With her mouth full, she said, "Our truce was only for yesterday."

Danny shook his head. "I thought we'd gotten over that."

"We have," Sam sighed, and then briskly added, in hopes of changing the subject, "Tucker wants to get rid of your sister."

Danny's first reaction was to burst out laughing. "Who doesn't?"

The rest of breakfast was silent. Whenever Danny would try and talk about the previous night, Sam would shut him down, snap at him, or say nothing at all. He saw the pattern of her thoughts in her reactions, and even as they finished breakfast and got into a cab to be taken to the bus station, it was ice as well. Danny could see Sam's head churning, could see the wires in her brain jarring as she continued thinking.

He liked it better when they were screaming at each other, because at least then he knew what she was thinking.

They reached the bus station an hour earlier than they were supposed to, and Danny was treated with even more silence as they sat and waited. They'd left their belongings on the bus, sat on one of the benches while they waited for the rest of those who are to board to arrive.

Danny sighed. "At least tell me this. When we get back to Amity Park, what are you going to do? Are you going to give me the silent treatment there too?"

Sam sighed, and, feeling too restrained sitting down, got up. Danny immediately followed her, having had enough with her silence. "Sam. Come on. Just talk to me."

She'd walked all the way to the back of the stand into an alley, separating them from the rest of the city. "What about Noel? What are you going to tell him?"

Sam turned around and glared at him. "I don't know, Danny. No matter what I tell him, he still ends up getting hurt."

"But what do _you _want, Sam?" Danny asked. "You never think about what you want. You ignore what you want and focus on what everyone else wants, because you don't want to hurt anyone. And I know you care about Noel, but–"

Sam shook her head at him. "Don't pretend to care about Noel, Danny. You're just trying to make this about us."

"That's because you're trying to make it about anything _but_ us!" Danny said in exasperation.

Sam was growing frustrated too. "You know what, fine." She gave him a defiant look. "You want to talk about last night? Talk."

"That's the thing, Sam," Danny resisted the urge to sigh. "I don't know what to say. Or what I'm supposed to do or even think. All I know…" he started walking closer to her, and she was so surprised she automatically started backing up as he got closer. Danny had backed her up all the way against the wall, and she turned to glare at the wall blocking her way. However, her attention was soon back on Danny as he continued, capturing her full attention. "… is that I don't care about Noel. I just want to take off all of your clothes, right here, right now, and kiss every square inch of your body, and never let you go until you tell me to."

Sam had suddenly forgotten how to breathe. Danny had one arm resting on the wall behind her, his body only a few centimeters from touching hers, the air between them almost screaming. His other hand was perfectly still at his side, and Sam almost wished he was steadying her with it, because she felt her knees start to shake. Even though she was looking into his eyes, he was looking down at her body, wanting to kiss the skin there beneath her clothes.

Danny bit his lip to prevent himself from doing so. "But that's probably a bad idea, right?"

She tried to speak, but her throat cracked. She took a deep breath, and uttered out what she hoped was a strong-willed, "Right." _Lies_.

"Right," Danny breathed out, and he was so close Sam could smell the toothpaste he'd used that morning. It took everything in Danny's will not to kiss her, and his resolve was strengthened as they heard the warning bell of a man calling people to board the bus. He looked up into her eyes and said, "See you on the bus."

Sam almost sagged against the wall when he stepped away from her and walked into the other direction out of the alley, disappearing from her view.

Sam let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and her breathing was heavy. She dug her nails into the wall behind her to prevent herself from falling.

She was astonished at the rush of feelings one boy could give her. He left her weak-kneed and breathless in only a few seconds without even touching her. It was like being on a roller coaster, because suddenly she felt out of breath and nauseas.

She almost wished he hadn't listened to her and was kissing every part of her body right now.

* * *

She followed him into the bathroom.

He was by the sink, washing his hands, and as she entered, he looked up at her in surprise. Sam ignored him and instead moved to the guy at the urinal, who yelped in surprise when he saw her and tried zipping himself up as fast as he could.

"Out," Sam ordered, and the guy was too shocked and panicked to do anything but listen to her.

Once he was out, Danny couldn't help but quip, "In case you haven't noticed, Sam, this is the men's room."

Sam looked up at him with a glare as she turned the lock on the door. "Shut up."

Danny had no time to react when Sam was suddenly upon him, pulling him down by his hair to kiss him. She went right to it, not giving him time to prepare for her tongue in his mouth or her hands on him. Danny, however, recovered quickly, his hands reaching down to her hips, pulling her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He placed her down on the sink counter, and as she kissed him again, he breathed out against her lips, "Are you okay?"

Sam pulled his chin back and told him briefly, "I said no talking."

Danny was more than happy to oblige.

Sam took him up on his offer as his hands reached down to her t-shirt and started pulling it up. She felt his hands move up her torso and then down to her thighs, as her own moved to his back, pulling his t-shirt up to feel the skin beneath. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and she used them to pull him closer.

She let go of his t-shirt and went to his pants, unbuckling his belt. She let go of his lips to pay attention to her work, but Danny went to kissing her neck, nibbling at her ear, his hands still working as she tried to undo his belt.

All she could feel and think about was Danny, and she felt him inside her, in her brain and stomach and in her heart. She barely even heard him say her name over and over again, still trying to pull his pants down.

"Sam… Sam… _Sam_."

Sam's eyes snapped open with a start. She'd gasped slightly as she woke up, blinking in confusion, looking around her. She found Danny giving her a concerned look from beside her, and with a disappointed lurch she realized she'd only been dreaming.

The bus rattled her seat, and reflexively she grabbed onto Danny to stay in place. When her hand grabbed at his thigh and she was settled again, she let go of him with a blush, remembering exactly what she'd been dreaming about.

Danny noticed the shaken up look on her face and frowned. "Are you okay?"

Sam was anything but okay. Not only had she done stuff with Danny in reality, she was dreaming about it too. With him sitting right beside her. It was more than just slightly embarrassing, and she didn't know what to think or do about it.

All she knew was that no matter what she did, she couldn't shake Danny off. From her mind or her body.

To him, however, she said, "Yep. I'm fine."

Danny wasn't an idiot, and he knew that she definitely wasn't fine. And he'd seen that look in her eyes before. Despite knowing he shouldn't, he still smirked slightly. "You're lucky you don't sleep-talk or I would've been very uncomfortable."

Sam glared at him, but she turned her face away so that he wouldn't see her blush. "Shut up."

Danny had woken her up because he saw the _Welcome to Amity Park!_ sign pass them by as they entered the border of the town. They'd been moving at a fast pace so far and he knew they'd be at the bus station at any second. And he knew that once they stepped out of the bus and felt the familiar air of Amity Park, the Goth girl would ice him out again.

Sam noticed the terrain passing by them looking more and more familiar by the second, and she said, "We're home?"

Danny nodded, watching her expression shift from tired to relieved. "We're home."

"Wow," she sighed. "Amity Park in all its glory, and not one building is on fire. I guess we misjudged your dad."

Danny laughed. "I wouldn't speak so soon. We're still not anywhere near my house, and I'm pretty sure I _will_ find some sort of disaster there."

They seemed to have forgotten about the tension in a while, so laughed as they made more jokes, more to try and ease the air around them than to actually try and offend Danny's dad.

However, that fake air of easiness and laughter soon dried up when the bus pulled up at a station. Sam and Danny got up silently with the rest of the passengers and retrieved their bags. As they went out and the distinct smell of Amity Park greeted them – a mix of chemicals from the town's many facilities, a tinge of pine trees from the woods, and the distinct smell of ectoplasm that was always in the air. They breathed it in, their return back bittersweet.

As they started walking down the street to try and haul a cab, Sam was trying to distract herself from what awaited her and said, "I'll call _Amity Airlines_ and make them send our luggage back to our houses. And we need to meet with Tucker and Jazz in a little while too and–"

"Sam, wait," she was cut off from both talking and walking when Danny took a hold of her wrist and pulled her back to him. They were only halfway down the street from the station, and so the street was a little crowded from people walking around and looking for their own cab. As Sam looked up at him expectantly, Danny took a deep breath and tried to think of what he wanted to say.

Looking down in her deep amethyst eyes, the words started flowing out of him. "Before we both go back home, _really_ home, I just wanted to tell you…"

His voice cracked by the end, and he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. Sam, though, understood perfectly. She nodded slightly at him, her eyes softening. She couldn't help but reach up and run her fingers through his hair, pushing back some strands that had fallen onto his face. "I know, Danny."

He shook his head, causing her to pull her hand away. "No, Sam, you _don't_ know. I'm not just attracted to you or have a stupid crush or whatever you think last night was about. Sam, I love you." The words were out of his mouth so fast his eyes widened when he fully registered that he'd said them.

And if Danny was shocked, Sam was close to having a panic attack. Her eyes widened as well as the words pierced her frozen mind and touched her frozen heart. _Sam, I love you_.

Danny loved her. He actually _loved_ her. And Sam knew the power in those words, not just any random ones pulled out of a dictionary. Three little words, and yet they tugged at her heart in more ways than she could count.

_Sam, I love you_.

Sam didn't know what to say in return. Worse, because as her eyes drifted from Danny's as she tried to make anything of her situation, she spotted someone who looked oddly familiar over his shoulder. She should've been shocked, she supposed, to see Noel looking for her by the bus station – but she was numb to anything and anyone but the Ghost Boy standing in front of her and to the words he'd just uttered.

Danny, however, noticed where she was directing her gaze, and turned to see what she was looking at. Once he saw Noel, and once Noel saw them and grinned at his girlfriend, Danny turned away so that Noel wouldn't see the anguished look on his face. Danny knew what Sam would do, and he knew that nothing more he would say would stop her.

"Sam, don't," he shook his head at her. "Don't leave me for him."

Sam's heart twisted at his choice of words. "I'm not. _Danny, I'm not_. This isn't my choice. Not yet. I'm not choosing anyone over the other." She sighed, knowing what she had to do. She looked over at Noel, who was still smiling at her, waiting for her to come to him, giving her time with Danny. "But I have to be fair, Danny, and I owe it to Noel to try and give him an explanation. I need to go talk to him."

Even though everything she said made sense, he still grabbed her wrist again when she started walking away from him and towards her boyfriend. Sam turned back to him with a look of hurt mirroring his. "Sam. I love you."

She didn't say anything back, and as his grip on her wrist slackened, she moved her hand and laced it with his. She sent him a message with her eyes, telling him that she would find him again, that she would get her head cleared and come back for him – but she just needed to figure some things out first. And she needed to talk to Noel and be fair to him as well if she was going to be fair to herself.

She hoped he understood that, and as she turned away, she gave his hand one last squeeze before she let go.

* * *

**A/N:** Ahem... Don't kill me.

Revieww x


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Are you sure he doesn't need a ride home?"

Sam stared out the window absentmindedly. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Noel had heard from Tucker about her arrival back home, and had immediately rushed here to surprise her. He'd greeted her with a hug, which she'd returned half-heartedly, knowing Danny was still watching them, and tried not to look back at him and his heart-broken expression as Noel kept on telling her how much he missed her as he led them to his car.

Noel had wondered about Danny and kept on pestering her so that they could turn around and pick up Danny to drive him home as well. But Sam knew the last thing Danny would want was to curl up in the backseat as Noel talked sweetly to her in the driver's seat. And, knowing him, she figured he also wanted to clear his own head and fly over the town before he returned home.

She'd called _Amity Airlines_ and they'd already sent their bags home, so as Noel pulled up in her driveway, she wasn't surprised to enter her house and see her suitcase waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.

"Tucker and Jazz are already at the Nasty Burger, waiting for us," Noel was telling her as she absentmindedly took off her jacket and started heading towards the stairs. "Family reunions are apparently a thing with Tuck. But we should hurry before Tucker snaps and kills Jazz."

Sam smiled at him, not really paying any attention to what he was saying but trying to pretend that she was. "Great. Okay. Just let me get changed real quick."

"Sure thing," Noel grabbed her wrist at the foot of the stairs before she could go up. "I'll be down here."

He gave her a hasty kiss on her cheek, and then smiled shyly. "Welcome back, babe."

Sam gave him what she hoped looked like a genuine smile and started trudging up the stairs. The smell of her room as she entered it relaxed her a little bit, as the mix of vanilla and lilacs invaded her nose. She sighed as she shut the door behind her and automatically headed towards her dressing table.

Seeing her reflection startled her slightly. There were small bags under her eyes from her lack of sleep and the stress of travelling, and her eyes looked dead.

Her reflection only made her feel more miserable. Why wasn't she happy? She just got back home, and her gorgeous and amazing boyfriend was waiting for her down the stairs, ready to shower her with sweet words and gentle kisses and tell her how much he missed her. She knew why she wasn't happy or excited, but it wasn't just because of the guilt tugging at her heart.

It was because the boy downstairs wasn't the one she wanted to be there.

* * *

They arrived in the Nasty Burger at an opportune time to stop Tucker from strangling Jazz.

Tucker and Jazz were sitting across from each other, so Sam crawled into the booth next to Tucker as Noel mirrored her. After they'd exchanged greetings, Tucker and Jazz launched into the story of their road trip, each version different than the other, as Tucker always expressed Jazz as a psychopathic tourist and Jazz always said that Tucker only wanted to take pictures, tweet about where he was and then leave without putting any other emotion into their visits. Several times, Sam and Noel had to quiet them down when they got a little too loud, earning them dirty stares from those in other booths.

Usually, Sam would find their storytelling hilarious and would be making quips of her own. But throughout the entire sitting, she couldn't help but notice that one member of their group was missing.

Sam had been zoning out, so when Tucker turned to her with an excited look and finished a sentence she hadn't been paying attention to and said, "–you think, Sam?"

The Goth girl blinked. "What?"

Tucker frowned at her. "What's up with you? You've been spacing out all over the place."

"Sorry," Sam tried to make her voice sound as interested as possible, but it still came out very monotonous. "I guess I'm just tired, that's all."

"Oh, don't say those words," Jazz rolled her eyes as she turned to Tucker. "That was his excuse for _everything_. 'No, Jazz, I'm too tired to go to the museum.' 'No, Jazz, I'm too tired to drive, even when it's my turn and you've been driving for twelve hours straight now'. 'No, Jazz, I'm too tired to be a civil human being and pee in the bathroom when there's a perfectly good shrub right here'."

That only got them into another round of bickering, to which Noel dealt with in amusement and Sam just watched, silent, a vacant look on her face as their bickering reminded her of Danny. Thinking of Danny only made her notice his absence once more, and she had to stifle a sigh.

Noel had apparently noticed his absence too, because a while after he asked, "Hey, Jazz, where's your brother?"

Jazz shrugged. "He said he wasn't feeling up to it to come, so he just stayed home and crashed. He's probably just sleep-deprived, I guess. Jetlag is a bitch."

While Noel nodded in understanding and brushed the subject off, Tucker turned to Sam with a suspicious look. When Sam wouldn't return his look or his stares, Tucker's mouth dropped open as his expression changed into one of shock and understanding as he connected the dots in his head.

"Holy crap," Tucker squeaked out accidentally. When Noel and Jazz turned to him with quizzical looks, Tucker blinked and quickly laughed nervously. "Holy crap, how didn't we order food yet? I'm starving. Noel, Jazz, would you be awesome people and order for us?" Tucker didn't even give them time to respond when he shooed them with a "Okay, thanks!"

Jazz and Noel shared a confused look, but got up anyway and headed towards the counter. Tucker kept his smile plastered on his face until they were out of earshot.

That's when he grabbed Sam's arm and turned her to him forcefully. "_No. Freaking. Way. _You and Danny?"

Tucker probably meant that she and Danny had gotten together on this trip; admitted their feelings, kissed, lived happily ever after. However, all Sam saw was Danny lying tangled in bed sheets as his eyes gazed over her skin and his lips trailed kisses down her neck and bit her lips. She saw his tangled hair in her fingers; his hands caressing her back; his deep, deep blue eyes and the lustrous look in them as she lay on top of him, her body fitting perfectly with his.

Sam couldn't help it. She blushed furiously.

Tucker noticed the crimson lighting up her cheeks and his gape turned into a wide grin. "You didn't even deny it. Holy crap. Sam. Spill it."

"Shut up," Sam glared at him, trying to will the blush from her cheeks. "Nothing happened."

"Like hell," Tucker scoffed. "Sam. I know you. And from that look, something _definitely _happened." Sam looked away from him, because she knew that Tucker was right – something definitely happened. Tucker laughed once more, but when he noticed the look on her face, as she stared down at her hands, the smile faded from his face. "Uh-oh. I know that look too."

Tucker then connected another piece in his head, and he instinctively looked up and his eyes found Noel, and he came to another understanding. "You turned him down. For Noel."

Sam started shaking her head before he even finished his sentence. "No, Tuck. I didn't choose Noel over Danny."

"Then why are you here with Noel? Where's Danny?"

Sam's mouth opened as she started saying something, but she slapped it closed when no words came out. She had a million reasons, a million answers to his question, but her mind was blank. She tried mustering out a coherent sentence, explaining to Tucker that she had to be fair to the guy and do the right thing.

Her mouth closed for the third time, and when Tucker gave her chastising look, she finally came to terms with herself and knew what she had to do. Leaving her misery behind as purpose and determination took over, she got up without saying a word to Tucker and started heading towards the counter.

"Hey," she said as she put her had on Noel's arm to get his attention. "Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

"Sure," Noel smiled warmly at her, and she looked away from that smile as she took his hand and started leading him outside. Once they were alone a few feet away from the Nasty Burger, she stopped and turned to him.

"Is everything okay, Sam?" Noel asked. "You seem a little–"

He was cut off when Sam smashed her lips into his, shutting him up. She kept the kiss brief and slow, but even when Noel responded, nothing changed.

She felt nothing.

She didn't feel tingly, her stomach was still in place, her knees were still, her heart was beating normally. It was just mouth on mouth, nothing more. In fact, it started feeling a bit wrong, like she was kissing Tucker.

She pulled her lips away from his and for the first time, she knew for sure. Noel was still dazed, and opened his mouth and said a little breathlessly, "What was that–"

Sam cut him off before he could continue. "We need to talk."

* * *

She found him in the first place she looked.

Well, actually, that was a lie. She'd headed over to his house first, because that's where Jazz had said he was, but she wasn't surprised when Mrs. Fenton told her he'd gone out. For a walk, he'd said, but Sam knew better.

She'd contemplated taking her car to get there faster, but she felt too restless, not wanting to waste time going back to her house and then still having to sit in a car while she drove there. So she headed to the park and tried not to sprint as she headed up towards the infamous hill, and there he was. The tree loomed above her, and the sinking sun illuminated shadows on the floor, and the tree bark looked pink.

She froze in her tracks when she saw him. He was just standing there, his back to her, and Sam had never felt so happy to see someone for her entire life.

Leaves crunched under her feet as she took slow steps toward him. He heard the noise and turned around, and froze when he saw her there. Even when they were a few feet apart, they could feel the electricity buzzing in the air.

Sam took a deep bath to steady her beating heart, and muttered out a small, "Hey."

"Hey," Danny said, biting his lip. Suddenly, all the words Sam wanted to say escaped her as her eyes met his, and she forgot everything she was going to say.

"Listen, Danny," she started, trying for the life of her to remember the speech she'd been preparing the entire time it took her to get here.

She couldn't get the words out of her mouth fast enough, because Danny interrupted her and said, "No, wait, Sam, let me go first." Sam was about to cut him off, but he went right ahead anyway. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was wrong."

"Danny–"

"No, wait, let me finish," Danny grunted, a frustrated look on his face. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I was wrong for not apologizing. Spying on you, calling Noel names, being a total asshole – I'm sorry. That was such a dick move. But not bigger than the dick move I made when I told you to make a choice and choose me, because that might've been the most selfish thing I'd ever asked you to do. Sam, I love you, and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realize that because I love you, I just want you to be happy. And I know Noel makes you happy. So that's that. I'm sorry for not seeing that earlier, and I just really hope you forget about the last few days and about how much of a jerk I was and we can be best friends again."

Many emotions rushed through Sam as she heard his speech, and once he was done, only one remained.

She wasn't even surprised when it was anger.

"You son of a bitch," she glared at him, unable to prevent the rage from pouring out of her. She'd spent such a long time in a constant stage of anger towards the Ghost Boy, it came naturally and easily to her at this point. "You inconsiderate, idiotic moron, you–"

Danny's eyes had widened in shock from her sudden outburst. He didn't even know what to say to stop her as she continued her rant. "You're _apologizing_? You're actually standing there and telling me that you're sorry, after everything that's happened? You know what you should really be sorry for? For standing there and thinking that, for one second, you know what I want."

"Sam–"

"No, _shut up_," Sam held up her finger, and Danny shut his mouth because, honestly, he was slightly terrified. "How dare you? How _dare_ you stand there and think that you know what I want and what makes me happy? You think it's _Noel_? God, you're so full of shit and think you know everything that you can't even see that the only thing I want and the only thing that will ever make me happy is _you_. That's what I want, Danny. _You_. I want you. Because I love you. _I love you, okay_? I love you, you stupid, idiotic, pathetic excuse for a–"

She was too consumed by her anger that she hadn't even noticed when Danny moved and when he reached up to aggressively cup her face in his and smash his lips into hers.

Now, _that_ definitely got her to shut up.

The fleeting thought of this moment being similar to that moment in the motel room, only one day ago, where Sam was so busy yelling at the Ghost Boy that she hadn't anticipated him kissing her, crossed her mind. But unlike that night in the motel room, she didn't freeze or suck in a breath through her nose in shock or falter. She responded to him immediately, all of her anger melting away instantly, as her lips moved with his. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled his body even closer to her and another hand flitted up to his hair.

There was no guilt. There was no Noel, no fighting, no anger, no misery, no heartbreak, no flights or bus rides to catch. There was just Sam and Danny and the sunset and the lone tree, the tree Danny pushed Sam against and tried resisting the urge to take off all of her clothes and kiss every square inch of her body.

And in those moments where everything came together, neither could even remember why they'd been fighting in the first place.

* * *

**A/N:** ... I don't really like to spoil when the last chapter is the last chapter... So, um... Hi guys... This is the last chapter.

WAIT! Before you start throwing things, OF COURSE there's gonna be an epilogue. Pff, have you known me for ending a story without an epilogue? That would be wrong. So, please, put your sharp and pointy things back down. You in the back; your tomatoes as well. Okay, thanks!

So, I hope you enjoyed this last chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it and the journey it took to get here! Revieww x


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The door to the bathroom was a few knocks away from breaking from its hinges and banging to the floor.

Jazz was pissed. No. She was pissed a half hour ago when she knocked on the same door and received the same answer she'd been receiving for an hour now. She was pissed when Danny had told her to give him ten more minutes, and twenty minutes later when she came back, he still wouldn't come out. Now, though; now Jazz was livid.

"_Danny_!" Jazz was using her whole fist to bang on the door – she was beyond knocking violently now. She wanted to kick the door out of its hinges. "It's been more than a freaking hour! _Get out_!"

When no reply came, she got even angrier. And the thing is, she knew he was in there, because she would hear the water running, and could see the slight steam escaping from beneath the door.

"That's it, Daniel," Jazz said through gritted teeth. "I'm coming in."

Usually, Danny didn't need to lock the door, because if Jazz ever accidentally walked in on him, he could just go invisible at any moment. She proved to know her brother too well when the knob gave away and she entered the bathroom.

She was greeted with steam as she entered and headed towards the shower stall. She was thankful for the steam, because it was so thick the stall doors were opaque and white, so she could see nothing.

"Danny," Jazz had to prevent herself from growling as she stood in front of the stall. "Get. Out. _Now_."

A quarter of the stall door slid open as Danny bent his head outside with a panicked look. "Jazz, what the hell?"

"_Me _what the hell?" Jazz yelled. "_You what the hell_! You've been in there for over an hour and I've been waiting since morning to take a shower before we went out today!"

"Why don't you just use the bathroom in mom and dad's room?" Danny scoffed, giving her an incredulous look.

"Their bathtub is slippery," she waved off, as if that wasn't even an option. "Besides, you've been in there longer than your average daily hours, and not only are you showering off schedule, but what kind of guy takes this long to shower?"

Jazz was speaking too fast and too angrily that he didn't really catch anything she was saying, but he got the hint that she was furious enough that she could pull him out of the stall by his hair, naked or not.

"Alright, alright, _fine_," Danny rolled his eyes. "Five minutes." When Jazz looked like she was about to explode again, he hastily added, "I mean it this time. Five more minutes."

"If I come back after five minutes and two seconds and you're still in the shower, I'm calling the cops," she shoved her finger in his face threateningly.

"Okay, got it," Danny was getting very tired from bending down, so he shooed Jazz and added, "Now _get out_. I'm in the shower. Slightly naked, in case you haven't noticed."

Jazz rolled her eyes and grunted at him in a very angry, unattractive manner, but she stomped out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Danny made sure her footsteps had faded completely before he slid the shower door closed and got back into the stall. Rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding the avalanche of water from the shower head, he grinned sheepishly and said, "Sorry about that."

Sam had been stifling her laughter for the entire time, her back against the stall door as she tried to make herself as invisible as possible and hoping that the steam lining the glass was hiding her from Jazz. She shook her head at him and said, "You said that five times already."

"Well, technically, it's not even my fault," Danny got back into his previous position, before Jazz had barged in on them, leaning close over her as his hands rested on the glass she was leaning on. "It's Jazz's fault. She's the impatient one."

"I don't really blame her," Sam shrugged slightly. "We have been in here for a while. I think she's getting suspicious."

"Oh, yes," Danny said, "because showering with the girlfriend I haven't even told her about yet is the first thing she's going to think I'm doing."

"It will be once we tell her later in the Nasty Burger today," Sam said. "By the way, we really should get out of here or else we'll be late."

"Oh," Danny leaned his body closer to hers so that they were touching, their noses only a few centimeters away from each other. "So, you want to leave?"

Sam wasn't even looking at his eyes anymore. She tried to take them off his lips – his soft lips, dripping with water – and be the responsible one.

But like the first five times, she failed once again.

The lovebirds discovered just how complicated shower sex could be when they heard an abrupt banging on the door and the shrill voice of a very angry and very done teenage girl shrieking, "_DANIEL FENTON_!"

* * *

"Are you kidding me?' Tucker looked like he wanted to bang his fist on the table, like in the movies, but he refrained. "That's it? That's all you're going to tell us?"

Danny and Sam shared a look before they looked back at Tucker. "Um. Yes." Sam said. "What else do you want to know?"

"You've got to be joking," Tucker shook his head, looking offended that Sam would even have to ask that. "'_We really bonded over those days abroad together, ended up admitting our feelings for each other, and so we got together_'. I'm paraphrasing of course. You said less than that."

Sam gave him a look. "We so said more than that."

"Damn it, Sam," Tucker said. "Spare me the cheesy romantic movie crap and give me the juicy R-rated stuff."

Sam's first instinct was to deliver a kick to Tucker's shin from underneath the table, and Danny's was to burst out laughing as he yelled out in pain and instinctively bent down to rub his sore shin. "Danny, would you put your girlfriend in her place?"

That only earned him another kick to his other shin, which only made Danny laugh harder.

"Wait a minute," Jazz thought aloud to herself, completely ignoring the idiots sitting with her. "Danny and Sam. R-rated." Her eyes then went wide, and it was like a light bulb clicked on over her head as realization dawned on her. "_You_–"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, you pervert," Sam scoffed at Tucker, pretending not to have noticed the revelation Jazz had come to conclude. "That's none of your business."

Tucker groaned as he leaned back into his seat. "You guys are no fun. I wanted to feel the excitement."

"It's just that, Tuck," Sam turned to Danny with a knowing smirk. "What happens in motels…"

And in airport waiting areas. And in airplanes. And in Chicago. And in Ferris wheels. And in bus station bathrooms. Or in that case in dreams. And on top of that hill by the tree. And in Sam's room. And in Danny's room. And in the shower…

But they didn't need to know all of that.

"… Stays in motels."

* * *

**A/N:** So... There it is! I'm sorry it's so short, but there's only so much you can do in an epilogue to a story like this.

Guys, I am truly speechless at the moment because I am so sad to have to bring this story to an end. I loved writing this so so so much, and this was just one of those 'I have this idea and it must be written down right now', and I'd never actually finished a story that started like that, and so it's a very big accomplishment for me that I managed to finish this story. I also always wanted to write a fic in which Sam and Danny's relationship hinged on anger and fighting and passion being the main emotions tapped, not cheesiness or fluff, so this was a great change than the usual fics and oneshots I write, and I'm so happy with the way it turned out.

And of course, thank you, you awesome readers, for your supports and your wonderful reviews! I will forever love you. Until next time! xxx

~Looka'sMagicHell~


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